Quebec MDs angry about upcoming legislation kicking tires on Manitoba opportunities: Doctors Manitoba

Manitoba and its strong francophone community may benefit from legislation in Quebec that’s driving doctors there to consider practising in other provinces.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from Quebec physicians about opportunities in Manitoba,” Doctors Manitoba spokesman Keir Johnson said Wednesday.

Doctors there have expressed outrage over provincial legislation that introduces a new compensation system tied to performance metrics and imposes penalties for collective actions.

Some are investigating a move to Manitoba, which has struggled with a shortage of doctors and has stepped up recruitment and retention efforts in recent years.

“Just last week at the Family Medicine Forum, a major national conference held this year in Winnipeg, our booth was busy with physicians from other provinces interested in Manitoba, particularly colleagues from Quebec,” Johnson said in an email.

“We are connecting those physicians with the Manitoba government’s recruitment office, and are happy to support their transition in practice here if and when they relocate to Manitoba,” he said.

Provincial health care retention and recruitment office representatives are attending an emergency medicine conference in Montreal this week as part of ongoing outreach to connect with skilled professionals and share what Manitoba has to offer, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Wednesday.

Next week, that office will host a webinar geared toward French-speaking physicians to highlight the opportunities in Manitoba’s francophone communities, the minister said in a statement.

“Manitoba’s strong francophone community and bilingual health services are a key part of what sets our province apart, and they help draw talented professionals who want to be part of a province where care is available in both official languages,” Asagwara said.

The Quebec government has said new legislation that takes effect in 2026 is meant to encourage physicians to see more patients and help 1.5 million Quebecers who don’t have a family doctor.

Physicians could face fines of up to $20,000 a day if they take “concerted actions” to boycott the bill, such as refusing to teach students.

Quebec doctors have said it’s an attempt to muzzle them, that the penalties are unconstitutional and many will leave the province as a result.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has reportedly received more than 250 applications from Quebec doctors interested in working there.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba did not respond to email inquiries Wednesday asking whether any Quebec doctors have applied for a licence to practise in this province.

Doctors Manitoba, which has connected with physicians wanting to leave the U.S. as a result of Trump administration health-care orders, said governments should consult with doctors before imposing changes that impact care.

“The situation in Quebec is a cautionary reminder that when politicians arbitrarily change the rules of medical care without engaging physicians as partners, patients suffer,” Johnson said.

“This is as true in Quebec as it is in the United States.”

Manitoba’s health care retention and recruitment office, which was established last year, is reaching out to professionals across Canada and around the world using social media, international webinars and national recruitment events, Asagwara said.

It has held engagement sessions over the past year in the United States and the United Kingdom.

— with files from the Canadian Press

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca