More than 30 U.S. doctors on path to Manitoba

Efforts to recruit American doctors to Manitoba are starting to pay off.

Manitoba has 33 U.S. physicians in various stages of recruitment, a spokesperson for the health minister confirmed.

“I just had dinner last week with a doctor who is new to Manitoba and very excited to be joining our health-care workforce who’s from the United States,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said.

The U.S. physicians have been lured through the Health Care Retention and Recruitment Office that was set up by the province last year.

Asagwara said Manitobans should be proud to have access to universal health care.

“One of the things (the U.S. physician) made really clear to me is that what makes Manitoba and Canada such an attractive place to practise as a doctor is that he’s not going to have to make decisions about his patient’s health care based on what they can afford — that he doesn’t have to worry about bankrupting a family based on a treatment that might save their life,” Asagwara said.

In Canada, Manitoba ranks near the bottom for the number of physicians per capita, with many communities underserved and patients continuing to face challenges in accessing timely care, said physician advocacy group Doctors Manitoba.

The organization has long advocated for the province to focus more of its recruitment efforts on the U.S., said president Dr. Nichelle Desilets said.

Last November, shortly after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, Doctors Manitoba launched a U.S. physician recruitment campaign. It placed ads in several states and set up a website for doctors to learn more.

Doctors Manitoba targeted physicians concerned about the Trump presidency and the uncertainty it poses — especially in states that limit the ability to offer evidence-based medicine in areas such as reproductive health, gender-affirming care or medical assistance in dying.

Doctors Manitoba promoted the province as offering economic stability, excellent quality of life and a health-care system where the government stays out of the patient-doctor relationship.

The province followed suit, and in June, approved a change to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba regulations, streamlining recruitment for U.S. doctors to apply for full licensure if they meet certain requirements.

“It’s very encouraging to hear that 2025 is shaping up to be a record year,” Desilets said Wednesday.

It’s the result of taking a team approach, with individual physicians reaching out to American colleagues, government and Shared Health recruitment efforts — and changes by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, she said in a statement.

“While we are seeing strong progress, it’s early and we can’t let up as Manitoba continues to climb out of a record shortage of physicians.”

The province is not letting up on recruiting U.S. doctors and nurses, said the health minister, who is also a registered psychiatric nurse.

“We want people to know that this is a province for everyone — that diversity on the front lines of our health-care system makes our province and our health care strong.”

The minister, whose parents immigrated from Nigeria, said that message resonates not only with Americans, referencing a conversation with a doctor recruited from the U.K.

“She’s now been practising in Manitoba over recent months. She’s enjoying it. She’s looking forward to her first winter here in the province. We’re going to make sure that she’s really comfortable. And we just keep asking folks to share the word. There’s good news about health care in Manitoba.”

In September, Manitoba reported a record number of net new physicians over the past year. The number of registered family physicians, specialists and medical residents with a full certificate of practice reached 3,498 as of April 30, up from 3,334 on the same date last year — a net gain of 164.

On Tuesday, the province announced that 328 temporary foreign workers working in health care were invited to apply to Manitoba’s provincial nominee program.

The immigration program allows the province to nominate skilled workers for permanent residency based on local labour needs.

The workers include 187 health-care aides, 21 physicians, 11 registered nurses and other professionals supporting patient care.

Two of the 21 doctors are working in Killarney. They can now make the community home, Janice Smith, mayor of the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, said in a news release.

“It can be more challenging to recruit in rural communities compared to larger centres, but the right fit sees the incredible value of small town life. Here, doctors truly become part of the community, and the difference they make is deeply felt and appreciated.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca