Premier touts addition of 137 physicians to Manitoba

Manitoba’s recruitment office has helped to attract 137 physicians to the province since it was established in 2024, including 18 who have taken positions in the western region.

“The point we are making today is that things are getting better, improvements are happening and investments are bringing people to Manitoba,” Premier Wab Kinew said at an announcement in Brandon to highlight the office’s efforts to attract physicians from across Canada and abroad.

The office, which was established as part of the 2024 budget, helps physicians navigate licensing, immigration and job placements. It has engaged with nearly 800 prospective recruits to date.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the office has assisted professionals during every step of their journey, adding that there have been some “hairy” situations at airports where the minister has waited to greet an arriving physician.

There have been cases in which calls had to be made to immigration officials following an “oopsie.”

“Everyone is working together with the office to ensure the doctors can immediately call Manitoba home (and) know that Manitoba is home for them and their families,” they said.

The minister said Thursday’s update is separate from last week’s announcement by the federal government. It provided $6 million to Manitoba to hire up to 90 family doctors for rural and northern communities.

Of the 137 recruits, 81 practise family medicine. Others specialize in emergency medicine, surgery, psychiatry, internal medicine and pediatrics, for example.

The province said 52 came from the United Kingdom and 42 were recruited from elsewhere in Canada.

One recruit, Dr. Arleigh Trainor, started in the emergency department at the Brandon hospital seven months ago.

She grew up in Thompson and moved to the U.S. after marrying an American.

“For me, it is truly a homecoming,” she said, adding she had stopped at a Manitoba recruiting table in Montreal and began asking about coming home. “The office we have spoken of has made that very easy.”

The government said Manitoba has added 370 net new doctors since October 2023, when the NDP took power, bringing the provincial total to more than 3,700 physicians, the highest on record.

Last month, the annual report from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba recorded a net gain of 196 physicians in 2025-26, the largest annual increase on record, bringing the total to 3,694 as of April 30. It marked the third consecutive year of growth, following gains of 164 and 133 doctors in the previous two fiscal years.

On the flip side, Doctors Manitoba warned that physician departures are also climbing. In total, 158 doctors left during the last fiscal year, up from 138 one year earlier.

The organization stressed that retention is just as important as recruitment, particularly as shortages persist in certain regions and specialties.

Asagwara said the government is trying to fill the gaps, which vary by region.

“Prairie Mountain Health has the same geographic footprint as Nova Scotia,” they said. “Prairie Mountain Health and Northern Regional Health Authority have some of the greatest staffing challenges by far. That being said, it also means they also have some of the greatest staffing opportunities.”

Despite repeated questions about the region’s challenges, Prairie Mountain Health CEO Treena Slate pointed only to “opportunities” for recruitment and retention.

“We know if we can train locally, we can recruit and retain locally,” she said. “I see more opportunities and challenges, and I think we need to do a really good job at selling ourselves in terms of what we have to offer.”

Meanwhile, Asagwara said safety and security remain paramount, and they touted the establishment of institutional safety officers in regional hospitals.

“For us, there is no finish line on safety and security.”

Asagwara said different safety measures, including weapons detectors, are under consideration.

scott.billeck@winnipegfreepress.com