Province quietly drops required age for lifeguards

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After struggling to fill lifeguard vacancies in the wake of stalled training and certification during the COVID-19 pandemic, the province is seeking to delve into a deeper pool of applicants by quietly lowering the required age to 15 from 16.

The change in Public Health Act regulations took effect June 30, just as Manitobans began flocking to outdoor pools for the summer season.

“The evidence shows that lowering the age allows for young folks who have the appropriate training to provide life-saving care in more spaces without diminishing the quality of that service,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Wednesday.

“We want for more families and more kids to be safe — wherever it is that they’re swimming, wherever they’re accessing pool services.”

The revised Swimming Pools and Other Water Recreational Facilities Regulation says in order to act as a lifeguard, a person must be at least 15 years of age, hold current Lifesaving Society National Lifeguard certification, as well as current intermediate level first aid and CPR level C certification.

The minimum age for an assistant lifeguard is also lowered so those 15 years of age with a current Lifesaving Society Bronze Cross certification and intermediate level first aid and CPR level C can be certified.

“Lowering the age allows for more life-saving trained folks to provide this service and help keep people safe, especially over the summer months,” Asagwara said.

An average of 22 people drown in Manitoba each year, with 70 per cent occurring between May and September, according to 2015-19 data from the chief medical examiner. Less than four per cent of drownings occurred in a lifeguard-supervised setting.

A government summary of the proposed changes before they were enacted said lowering the minimum age for lifeguards, lifeguard assistants and attendants would increase the pool of eligible candidates, helping operators fill important seasonal roles.

“There was a lull there during the pandemic, like there were for a lot of things,” said Lynne Stefanchuk, executive director of Lifesaving Society Manitoba.

“When it comes to the lifeguard shortage or perceived shortage or how we look at that, our certification is up … to pre-pandemic levels,” she said this week.

Early in the pandemic, the numbers of lifeguards certified in 2020 and 2021 had plummeted. But even now that the ranks have been restored, hiring can still be a challenge, Stefanchuk said.

“People struggling to find lifeguards to fill positions can vary widely depending on what part of the province you’re in,” she said. “A lot of it is very seasonal work. There’s a lot of factors in terms of how those positions get filled and how sought-after they are. Within the city of Winnipeg, there can be factors — like there’s a few pools that have closed for renovation.”

Bonivital and St. James Civic Centre indoor pools are closed for major capital renovations, city spokesman Adam Campbell said this week.

Winnipeg has sufficient aquatic staff to operate its summer programs, Campbell said in an email. It is, however, recruiting lifeguards — also known as “instructor guards” — for its fall program, he said. “We are not currently planning any changes to our minimum hiring age for lifeguards, which is 16 years old.”

Stefanchuk said summer camps, too, may face a challenge.

“Some of them are only three or four weeks total,” she said. “If they’re not close to a major centre, it’s more challenging for them to find someone to cover that, in that time. That’s so much different than the City of Winnipeg hiring their team of lifeguards for Pan Am (Pool) or something like that. There’s just such a wide range of needs.”

Lowering the minimum age for lifeguard certification brings the regulation in line with updates in 2024 to Manitoba’s Recreational Camps Regulation.

It requires a supervisor in charge of the waterfront program be at least 15, have lifeguard certification, be in attendance at all times when facilities are in use and be supervised by the camp director or an adult member of the camp’s staff.

The regulations needed to be modernized, said Asagwara. The proposed amendments were posted in the spring, with the province receiving feedback from the public and stakeholders, the minister said.

The province also revised water analysis requirements, allowing more laboratories to offer testing services.

Other changes will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, including updates to fencing and access requirements to prevent unauthorized access to outdoor pools and wading pools.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca