Manitoba ahead of national average in accessing primary-care physicians, survey shows

A national survey shows Manitobans have more access to primary-care physicians than average Canadians.

The 2025 OurCare survey led by University of Toronto researchers found 88.8 per cent of respondents in Manitoba report having a family doctor, nurse practitioner or regular primary-care setting compared to the national average of 82.8 per cent, the province said in a news release.

“It’s encouraging to see that nearly 89 per cent of Manitobans report having a regular primary care provider but our goal is 100 per cent,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in the release.

The province says it has hired 285 net new doctors since 2023, reversing years of attrition and helping to stabilize care in many communities. In Winnipeg, 99 per cent of Manitobans are now matched with family doctors within the standard of 25 days — up from 79 per cent when the NDP government took office, the release said.

The province said it has expanded extended-hours primary care clinics to include evening and weekend access for for non-emergency concerns.

The OurCare survey by the university’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions shows nearly 5.8 million Canadians don’t have access to primary care, researcher and family physician Dr. Tara Kiran said in the news release.

The number of people with a primary-care provider in Manitoba is among the highest in Canada, Kiran said.

“There’s still work to be done to get to 100 per cent but we also need to learn from what provinces like Manitoba are doing right,” Kiran said.

Timely and after-hours access to primary care remains a challenge nationally, the OurCare survey found.