Thirteen U.S. docs now practising in province

Manitoba has doubled the number of U.S. doctors it has recruited since the fall, with 13 physicians now practising in the province.

“To paraphrase what it says at the Statue of Liberty, give us your poor, give us your weary, give us your Americans yearning to be free,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference Friday morning at the legislature.

“At this time in the world, everyone sees what’s going on in the United States. We’re very proud here in Manitoba to accept people as they are, to celebrate inclusion and diversity and to keep our doors open to the world.”

The premier was joined by Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and three doctors, including one from the U.S., who said working in a publicly funded health-care system has been a major shift.

“Here, care is based on need, not what someone can afford,” said Dr. Jesse Krikorian, who began work at Winnipeg’s Klinic Community Health in October.

The family doctor from Michigan said in the U.S., some of his patients couldn’t make follow-up appointments because they couldn’t afford it. Now, he’s able to focus on patients.

“I’m not spending my lunch hour on the phone with insurance companies anymore, and I can actually use that time to care for people,” said Krikorian

In October, Manitoba, which ranked near the bottom for the number of physicians per capita in Canada, had 33 U.S. and United Kingdom physicians in various stages of recruitment to the province, including six from the U.S. who had started a practice.

As of January, there are “dozens” of doctors in the recruitment process and 13 U.S.-trained physicians practising in Manitoba — in addition to the 285 net new physicians the province has hired since the NDP formed government in October 2023, Asagwara said.

The minister credited changes made to regulations last June to help streamline U.S.-trained doctors to apply for full licensure in Manitoba.

Doctors Manitoba welcomed the 13 new U.S. physicians.

“This appears to be a record, more than double the best U.S. recruitment year on file, and much more than the average one-to-two American recruits that choose Manitoba in a typical year,” Doctors Manitoba spokesman Keir Johnson said in an email. Since 2010-11, the most the province has accepted in a year is six, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba said.

Although doctor recruitment is picking up, the advocacy group is concerned about retaining the physicians Manitoba has, Johnson said.

“Manitoba performs among the worst in Canada when it comes to retaining our medical school graduates and on losing doctors to other provinces,” he said.

Although 2025 was a record year for physician recruitment, Manitoba still had a net loss of 8.3 physicians per 1,000 to other provinces — the second worst rate in Canada, data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show. Just 66 per cent of medical graduates stay in the province.

Doctors Manitoba’s annual survey found 43 per cent of physicians are considering reducing hours, retiring, or leaving the province within the next three years.

“We look forward to working with health system leaders on strengthening our system to retain our expert doctors, including investing in the latest equipment, technology and team-based care, while reducing the paperwork burden that takes doctors away from patient care,” Johnson said.

Of the 13 American doctors new to Manitoba, 11 work for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Southern Health and in community health, Asagwara’s press secretary, Anja Sadovski, said. Their specialties include family medicine, diagnostic imaging, pathology, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry.

One doctor who specializes in emergency medicine is in the Prairie Mountain Health Region and one hired for Southern Health specializes in internal medicine.

Despite weather in Winnipeg being a “little colder” than what he’s used to, Krikorian said he continues to encourage colleagues who ask about Manitoba to consider relocating.

“I’ve been reaching out and getting people a little more information about Winnipeg, trying to get Manitoba on the map for more Americans,” the doctor said.

The NDP government’s health care hiring announcements haven’t resulted in improved front-line services, the Tories said Friday. Many diagnostic, surgical and ER wait times have increased since it took office, Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said in an email.

She pointed to the premier’s comments in November suggesting the province has hired enough nurses.

“Yet, 50 per cent of the nursing positions in the Dauphin and Swan River ERs were vacant just last week,” said Cook (Roblin).

“Clearly, the premier’s words are not matching his actions on the delivery of front-line health care services that Manitoba families deserve.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca