The Manitoba government marks significant progress toward providing more accessible healthcare to Manitobans by striving to add 2,000 more healthcare providers.

The provincial government has hired approximately 900 new staff for Manitoba's healthcare sector.

"The Manitoba government is pleased to announce substantial hiring increases across healthcare provider groups including healthcare aides, allied-health providers, nurses and physicians, and we know there is more work to do," says Health Minister Audrey Gordon. "We will continue to work with all levels of health care from leadership to front-line workers to improve the health-care system for those employed within it and for all Manitobans."

Among the recently hired staff are 82 allied-health providers, 32 physicians and clinical assistants, 438 healthcare aides, 259 nurses and 73 physicians.

The Manitoba government continues to work with provincial post-secondary institutions to expand access to programs that will help address long-term capacity demands. In addition, work with regulatory bodies such as the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba on newcomer integration and recruitment initiatives for internationally educated nurses and doctors is also helping to steadily grow the workforce.

"A healthy workforce is the most important factor in building a stronger healthcare system that is able to meet the needs of all Manitobans," says Lanette Siragusa, CEO of Shared Health. "Ensuring that our staff and teams, in all health professions, feel supported and valued is the rationale behind many of the initiatives already in place through the Health Human Resource Action Plan."

The minister also noted other progress has been made on the Health Human Resource Action Plan since it was announced in November 2022. To date, 12 initiatives from the $200-million initiative have been implemented to support retention, training and recruitment including:

  • 11,600 weekend super premiums;
  • 8,747 wellness bonuses;
  • 11,562 licensure reimbursements; and
  • 810 extended-hour premiums for physicians.

Through the Health Human Resource Action Plan, the Manitoba government is building vital capacity to support the healthcare workforce now and build a stronger healthcare system for the future.

More information about the Health Human Resource Action Plan is now available at http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/hhrap.