A new national report out today from the Canadian Institute for Health Information confirms Manitoba led the nation last year on doctor recruitment, a much-needed step to climb out of our significant physician shortage.

What’s new: The CIHI report looks at the state of health workforce across Canada in a number of areas, including physician recruitment in 2024. 

• Manitoba saw a 5.3% increase last year in practicing physicians
• The Manitoba increase was the largest of any province and more than double the national average of 2.2%.
• The increase was also the largest in the 10 years reported for Manitoba. 

Yes, but: While the report is good news overall for tackling the physician shortage, it also validates areas we have been suggesting need attention.

• Specialist recruitment lagged behind last year, with nearly two family physicians added for every specialist. 
• More family physicians is good news, but it also means more referrals and pressure for a pool of specialists that isn’t growing as fast. That creates a serious risk for heavier workloads and longer wait times. 
• Manitoba also retains fewer medical school students than the national average, losing a third of our graduates to other provinces. By comparison, Manitoba retains over 93% of nursing graduates.

Reaction to the report: Our President, Dr. Nichelle Desilets, acknowledged the report includes both good news and room for improvement:

• “Doctors Manitoba welcomes new national reporting that shows Manitoba had the largest increase in physicians of any province last year. While the report confirms recruitment has improved, it also reinforces that we have a retention challenge as Manitoba only keeps two thirds of our medical school graduates. That means we lose one medical school graduate to other provinces for every two we keep. The best ways to improve doctor retention in Manitoba include expanding team-based care in physician practices and investing in modern digital technology and equipment.”

What’s next: Doctors Manitoba will continue our advocacy on both recruitment and retention in the coming weeks, pressing for improvements to keep building on the early success we are seeing with recruitment.