Manitoba’s physician shortage continues to shrink, but significant challenges remain when it comes to specialist care and rural health services, according to a new report from Doctors Manitoba.
The organization’s annual Physicians in Manitoba report shows the province now has 235 physicians per 100,000 residents, a 4.5 per cent increase from last year and closer to the national average of 245. Manitoba’s physician shortage has fallen to 229 doctors, down from a peak of 445 just three years ago.
“Manitoba is heading in the right direction on shrinking our severe doctor shortage,” said Doctors Manitoba President Dr. Alon Altman. “The shortage is nearly half the size it was just three years ago, but we still have serious gaps in many specialties and in many rural communities.”
The report identifies specialist shortages as the province’s biggest concern. Manitoba is currently short 225 specialists, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the overall physician shortage. Areas facing the greatest challenges include geriatrics, emergency medicine, cardiology, vascular surgery, urology, ear, nose and throat surgery, pathology, nuclear medicine and radiology.
Outside Winnipeg, every rural and northern health region has fewer physicians per capita than comparable regions across Canada. Southern Health and Interlake-Eastern face the largest shortfalls, while Prairie Mountain Health remains about 22 per cent below similar regions nationwide.
Doctors Manitoba is also calling for a stronger focus on physician retention. The report estimates 658 doctors could retire or leave Manitoba within the next three years. It also notes that only 63 per cent of medical residents trained in Manitoba are still practicing in the province five years later, below the national average of 73 per cent.
The full report can be viewed here: Physicians in Manitoba (2026).
