Health System Check-Up: Two Years After the Election
Manitoba’s government has reached the midpoint of its mandate two years after taking office. A key pillar of their 2023 campaign was improving the province’s health care system for all Manitobans and the physicians and other health care providers who serve them.
Ahead of the 2023 election, Doctors Manitoba released a Prescription for Improving Health Care offering recommendations for a clear path forward to stabilize and improve health care for all Manitobans.
We’re taking stock of the progress, issues that still need work, and how Doctors Manitoba is helping to shape what comes next to ensure physicians’ concerns are raised and addressed at the highest levels.
Addressing Shortages of Physicians and Health Care Workers
In 2023, the physician shortage had reached a record high, and Manitoba had the second fewest doctors per capita in the nation. Shortages were also significant for nurses, allied health workers, and others. Addressing the shortage was a key plank of the government’s election platform.
So how are they doing?
| Promise | Progress |
|---|---|
| 400 more doctors | Strong progress: 285 doctors added so far |
| 600 more nurses | Complete: 1,100 more nurses added |
| More allied health workers, including 200 paramedics and 100 mental health workers | Strong progress: 406 allied health professionals added, but the breakdown for paramedics and mental health workers is not yet available. |
| 100 more home care workers | Complete: 250 additional home care workers added |
| 250 team-based care providers in physician offices | No progress: The government has not yet made progress on adding any team-based care providers to physician offices |
The government has made additional supporting progress in this area, including:
- Supporting construction for an expansion of the Bannatyne medical campus (under construction)
- Expanding medical school and residency spaces
- Hiring more internationally-educated professionals
The premier made a commitment to improve the culture in health care, and to “take care of the health care workers that take care of us.” Changing the culture is difficult, and this is reflected in results from our 2025 Annual Physician Survey last winter, which found only 9% of physicians reported the culture had improved.
As we look ahead to the next half of this government’s mandate, we will continue to advocate for changes to improve the culture and decrease burnout, including more physician consultation and engagement about changes in the system, and reducing your administrative burdens. We will also continue to support efforts to reduce the physician shortage.
Other Progress in Health Care
The government has made progress on a number of other health care election promises:
- Prescription birth control is available for free to all Manitobans.
- A new independent Seniors Advocate is being established this fall.
- More than 300 hospital beds have been added since 2023, including transitional care beds, surpassing the 130 promised during the election.
- Surgical capacity has been increased.
- Paper health cards are being replaced with sturdier plastic cards.
- Construction is being planned for a new CancerCare building and new ERs in Eriksdale and at Victoria Hospital in Winnipeg.
- Opening some of the promised 5 minor injury and illness clinics and 5 extended hours clinics
- A new mobile MRI is now operating in northern Manitoba.
- School breakfast programs have been funded across the province, and the Manitoba Prenatal Benefit has been doubled.
Areas of Concern
The government made several other promises and progress in these areas is less clear:
| Promise | Status |
|---|---|
| Adding 250 team-based care providers to physician practices | No progress |
| Eliminating fax machine and adding electronic health records | Unclear. The government has announced plans to invest in electronic health records in hospitals, but the timeline and details have not been unveiled. It appears the plan does not include connecting electronic systems between community-based physicians and hospitals and diagnostics. |
| Keeping more rural and northern ERs open | This summer, we found the number opened was about the same. Efforts to reopen Carberry ER has resulted in only part time operations. |
| Creating centres of excellence in mature women’s health, surgery, heart health, dialysis and kidney disease. | Plans confirmed to add mature women’s clinic at Victoria Hospital, but plans for other centres of excellence unclear. |
| Call inquiry to review pandemic response | While an inquiry has been called into the Winnipeg Police Building, no plans for a pandemic inquiry have been announced. |
| More hours of care in PCHs | The province reports it is “on a path” to increase direct care hours from 3.9 to 4.1 per day, but the timing is unclear. |
What do you think?
Let us know what you think of the government’s progress by emailing us at practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca. We regularly meet with senior officials to advocate for physicians’ priorities. Please take the time to share what you have seen working well in the last two years, and what needs more attention and investment.