For the first time in over a decade, Manitoba is cutting down on its doctor shortage.

A new report from Doctors Manitoba shows a net gain of 133 doctors in the past year, which is the largest increase on record. The province is now 346 doctors away from hitting the national average of doctors per capita, which sits at 243 doctors per 100,000 people. Manitoba currently has 219 per 100,000.

“This positive news suggests Manitoba may be turning the corner,” says Dr. Randy Guzman, board president of Doctors Manitoba. “We have to see multiple years of improvement to make sure this is a positive trend and a step in the right direction.”

However, the province still sits second last in the provincial ranking of doctors per capita, ahead of only Prince Edward Island. Manitoba also has the lowest rate of family physicians, and the third-lowest rate of specialists.

Guzman also highlights Manitobans are at risk of losing many of the doctors they already have. More work is needed to attract and retain physicians if the province is going to move up in the rankings.

“We’re at risk of losing 688 doctors over the next three years to other provinces or to retirement,” says Guzman. “To put that in perspective, that’s 20 per cent of our entire physician workforce, and that’s more than the number of students we have in all four years of medical school.”

In 2001, Manitoba had the fourth most physicians per capita. That ranking dropped in the following years, and has been sitting at second-last place since 2020.

According to Doctors Manitoba’s report, the doctor shortage had been climbing steadily since 2013, and reached a record high last year.

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