Today, we released our annual report on the physician supply in Manitoba, something we track closely because it has been a top concern to physicians. 

✅ Good News: After persistent advocacy from Doctors Manitoba on behalf of physicians, we have seen record recruitment. That means: 

• Manitoba has had record net increases in the total number of physicians in the last few years, with the biggest ever increase of 196 last year. 
• These gains are shrinking our doctor shortage. In fact, it’s nearly half as big as it was just three years ago, when it peaked at 445. 
• Manitoba now has 235 physicians per 100,000 residents, compared to the Canadian average of 245. 

⚠️ What we’re watching: Our recruitment gains are uneven, and some areas are further behind. We have three top concerns: the specialist shortage, the rural/​northern shortage, and retention challenges. 

• “Overall, significant progress is being made in a very short amount of time,” noted Doctors Manitoba President Dr. Alon Altman. ​“But that progress is uneven, targeted recruitment is still needed and stronger action on doctor retention is necessary as well.” 

Specialist shortage: Our top concern is that most specialties are not seeing their shortages improve. Manitoba is short 217 specialists, and this makes up more than 90% of the overall doctor shortage. Many specialties are affected: 

• Medical specialties, including geriatrics, emergency, and cardiology. 
• Surgical specialties including vascular surgery, urology and otolaryngology. 
• Diagnostic specialties including pathology, nuclear medicine and radiology. 

These shortages contribute to distress and burnout, and unsustainably high workloads. For patients, this means longer waits and challenges getting the care they need. 

Rural Shortage: Outside of Winnipeg, every rural and northern health region has fewer physicians per capita than comparable peer regions across Canada. 

• The largest gaps appear to be in Southern Health (42% below peer regions) and Interlake-Eastern (41%)
• Significant gaps are also present in Prairie Mountain (22%) and Northern Health (11%).

Retention: A perennial concern in Manitoba is the number of doctors that leave practice. 

• An estimated 658 physicians are considering leaving practice in Manitoba over the next three years, either to retirement or relocating outside of Manitoba. 
• Overall, 40% are considering retiring, leaving Manitoba or reducing their clinical hours, an improvement from 52% in 2023 but still a significant risk. 
• Only 63% of residents who completed their training in Manitoba are still practicing here five years later, lower than the national average of 73%. 

“Recruiting alone won’t solve our shortages,” added Dr. Altman. ​“We need to make Manitoba a place where physicians want to stay, whether they were trained here or recruited from out of province. That means investing in equipment and technology, reducing unnecessary paperwork, expanding team-based care, and ensuring physicians have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting medical care.” 

The full Physicians in Manitoba (2026) report is available here.