Manitoba added 201 doctors since NDP took office

Manitoba has seen an increase of 201 net new physicians practising in the province since the NDP formed government.

Another 12 have accepted offers and are set to begin their practices in the coming months, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in a statement Wednesday.

A contract with Canadian Health Labs to recruit 150 physicians that was signed by former Progressive Conservative health minister Audrey Gordon in 2023 resulted in the hiring of two physicians, each from the United Kingdom.

That contract expired on July 24 and will not be extended.

“This was not a good deal for the province of Manitoba and, yeah, we’re not going to be renewing it,” Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday at an unrelated news conference. “We were looking at the clock waiting for this thing to expire.”

The contract with Canadian Health Labs was valued at up to $5.25 million, with $3.75 million allocated for the 2023-24 fiscal year, a provincial government spokesman said in an email. The contract stipulated that the recruiter would be paid between $25,000 and $45,000 for each family doctor recruited, depending on their practice location. On Wednesday, the Tories blamed the NDP for the lack of results.

“This is yet another example of the NDP inheriting a successful PC program, and setting it up to fail,” PC deputy leader Jeff Bereza said in a statement. He called the contract a viable recruitment tool and compared it to the diagnostic and surgical recovery task force the NDP shut down after taking office.

“They didn’t try,” Bereza said. “It’s time for the NDP to stop blaming the PCs for their health-care failures, and (start) delivering on their election promises to Manitobans.”

Kinew said the deal was bad and his government was taking a better approach to health care.

“We’ve added close to 3,000 new health-care staff, physicians, nurses, health-care aides and we’ve done that using recruitment and retention services being run out of the department of health. That provides you the best value for your taxpayer dollar but it also makes sure that we have better oversight,” he said.

The contract with the private recruiter did little to attract new doctors and nothing to retain them, Asagwara said.

“We are taking a hands-on approach, recruiting directly through the (Health Care Recruitment and Retention Office), which gives health care workers one-on-one support from the time they apply to when they’re settled in their new community,” the health minister said.

The office, set up last year, lined up 25 of the new doctors, with candidates from a variety of countries including the U.K., United States, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt, Hungary, Colombia, and across Canada.

Doctors Manitoba president and Neepawa family doctor Nichelle Desilets applauded the province’s efforts.

“Having reliable, consistent contact with people who are going to follow up on those inquiries and make sure that the paperwork’s not getting lost and to support physicians through that process — that is absolutely what we need,” said Desilets, who went through the process of getting licensed in Manitoba when she moved from a neighbouring province 10 years ago.

Desilets said the increase in doctors is great but many more are needed. Doctors Manitoba launched its own recruitment campaign in the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump in November.

“Practise where you are valued and trusted as a physician and the government stays out of the exam room,” an excerpt from one of the ads in U.S. medical magazines and newsletters read.

The campaign honed-in on health-care providers in North Dakota, Florida and other states where abortion and gender-affirming care have become deeply politicized issues.

“Physicians are in demand everywhere, so they can get offers from anywhere. In fact, other provinces are actively recruiting Manitoba physicians as we speak.”–Nichelle Desilets

In Canada, Manitoba ranks second from the bottom compared to other provinces, with 219 physicians per 100,000 residents, Desilets said.

“Physicians are in demand everywhere, so they can get offers from anywhere. In fact, other provinces are actively recruiting Manitoba physicians as we speak,” she said.

“We know that Manitoba is a great place to live and work once you’ve been here, but sometimes the tough part is persuading doctors and other health-care professionals to check out our province and to come here and see what opportunities are available, despite the cold winters,” she said.

Desilets said doctors are the best recruiters.

“If those physicians are saying positive things about their work environment, that’s going to go in a positive direction towards recruitment.”

The province also must play a part, she said.

“Make sure that we’re not getting outperformed or outbid by other jurisdictions that might be offering bigger incentives or more resources.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca