Manitoba surpasses 3,500 doctors for the first time!
Manitoba has surpassed 3,500 licensed physicians for the first time in the province’s history. This marks significant progress in responding to physicians’ top concern following years of advocacy and action.
Doctors Manitoba has been putting a spotlight on the issue as the physician shortage grew in Manitoba. We have tracked the shortage closely and offered recommendations to address it, including a focus on improving retention, recruitment, and training.
These efforts gained momentum in 2023, leading to the milestone reached this week. Today, there are approximately 300 more doctors working in the province than in 2023, a significant net increase in the physician supply in Manitoba.
“Doctors Manitoba made addressing the physician shortage our top advocacy priority based on concerns from physicians,” explained Dr. Nichelle Desilets, President of Doctors Manitoba. “Our recommendations to train, recruit, and retain more doctors have been guided by advice and feedback from doctors, residents and medical students, and their feedback has contributed to the turnaround we are now seeing.”
Several major changes have aided in this progress:
Improved path to licensure for international medical graduates.
A new Physician Services Agreement with more predictable and innovative funding models for medical services and competitive remuneration with other provinces.
Initial steps towards reducing administrative burdens.
Expanded recruitment efforts, including a new Retention and Recruitment Office which is ramping up its operations.
Major expansions to medical training.
Better support for new and existing physicians.
Dr. Desilets acknowledged the important contributions of partners in making this progress, including the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, the University of Manitoba, Shared Health and the broader health system, as well as the provincial government.
Today’s 3,500 physicians are also much more reflective of the broader Manitoba population than in years past, with an unmatched level of expertise and diversity, delivering exceptional care to Manitobans. Read more about this and watch our video!
While reaching 3,500 doctors is cause for celebration, Manitoba still ranks near the bottom nationally for the number of physicians per capita, according to national reporting. Many communities remain underserved, and patients continue to face challenges in accessing timely care.
“This is an important milestone, but our work is far from over,” added Dr. Desilets. “The government has made a commitment to hire 400 more doctors over their mandate, and continued work towards that promise will help ensure Manitoba stays on track to turning our doctor shortage around.”
Spotlight: Progress on Medical Training
The University of Manitoba has played a key role in expanding training opportunities to help increase the supply of physicians in Manitoba over the last two years. This includes:
Expanding medical school training from 110 to 140 seats
Increasing residency spaces from 159 to 190
Expanding the Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates
While training expansions are a longer-term plan, we are already seeing early signs of progress.
This year, the University of Manitoba will fill 188 of 190 residency spaces, a strong signal that the expansions in post-graduate medical training are being sought out and filled.
Of particular note is that all 82 family medicine residency spaces have been filled this year, even as they were increased from 72 last year. This is not the case in other provinces. The CaRMS results for this year show 94 family medicine residency spaces left unfilled across 10 medical schools.
The success of filling all family medicine residency spaces, including a record number of rural spaces, follows hard work and commitment from family physician leaders and rural physician champions such as our Physicians of the Year Dr. Selena Papetti and Dr. Michel Bruneau. The introduction of Family Medicine Plus has been transformational as well, sparking an interest in comprehensive family practice among residents and students.
This week, 101 medical students graduated from the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. The class of 2025 includes 13 new Indigenous physician graduates, who also attended a celebration this month with Ongomiizwin (read story here).
Spotlight: Smoother Pathways to Licensure
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) has been acting to reduce red tape and streamline the application and registration processes for physicians trained in, or relocated from, outside of Manitoba:
A Fast-Track Registration pathway was introduced in 2023 to expedite registration for physicians who meet national standards. This change was designed to remove barriers for out-of-province physicians who are fully licensed in another Canadian jurisdiction, allowing them to begin practicing medicine in Manitoba more quickly.
CPSM removed a requirement in 2023 for internationally educated physicians that had required them to hold a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada to practice in Manitoba, as long as they meet all other registration requirements.
CPSM is now proposing further changes, which are currently out for consultation until May 25:
We will be providing a submission to CPSM based on the feedback you have provided to us.
Spotlight: Provincial Efforts Picking Up
The provincial government has recognized the shortage, and committed to actions that respond to some of our recommendations. Premier Wab Kinew adopted our recommendation to add 400 more doctors during the government’s four-year mandate, and set an ambitious goal last year to add 100 doctors in this first year. They have supported residency training expansions, established a Recruit and Retention Office, and provided funding to create new programing at Doctors Manitoba for physician peer support and to support early career physicians.
