Posted November 18, 2025
The Honourable Anita Neville, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba delivered the Province’s Speech from the Throne outlining the Government of Manitoba’s priorities for next year. The speech included several health care-related commitments, including a promise to end mandatory overtime, starting with nurses.
The speech prioritized Advanced Care Paramedics in rural Manitoba, and new direct entry training programs for MRI technologists and Primary Care Paramedics, but MAHCP President Jason Linklater is concerned about the lack of a workforce plan for the 50+ vital allied health professions supporting care throughout the system.
“Our province’s largest employers – the WRHA and Shared Health – don’t have workforce plans and don’t have permanent CEOs to execute those plans,” said Linklater. “Meanwhile, the Throne Speech included a commitment to end mandated overtime, despite high vacancy rates in some critical professions.”
Manitobans are waiting longer for ambulances, MRIs, CT scans, mental health and addictions treatment, therapy and support for autism and other developmental disorders, and many other specialized services allied health professionals provide.
Healthcare employers must commit to allied health recruitment and retention strategies to keep these vital professionals here in our system, and invest in the future of care, otherwise, Manitobans will continue to wait too long for tests, ambulances, and treatments.
“MAHCP is eager to work with government on an actionable plan to fill staffing gaps, retain valuable and difficult-to-replace allied health professionals, and meet the rising demand for services. We’re disappointed that they didn’t commit today to developing a workforce plan.”
Here is an overview of the Province’s healthcare commitments from the 2025 Speech from the Throne:
- Addictions: Protective Care legislation to modernize addictions treatment and a new Protective Care Centre in Winnipeg which the government says will help people detox, assess underlying issues, and connect with health care and supports. New detox beds at Main Street Project for people leaving the Protective Care Centre to access recovery; streamlined housing access with wraparound supports at Main Street Project to house people until they can enter treatment. Supervised Consumption Site will start operations in Winnipeg in January.
- Allied health: Introduce a new direct-entry MRI tech training program; 14 seats in a new direct-entry program for Primary Care Paramedics at Red River College Polytech; continue to make Advanced Care Paramedics in rural Manitoba a priority with the first fully enrolled class of ACPs and a commitment to hire all of them.
- Safety & security: 126 Institutional Safety Officers in hospitals; eight more coming to Thompson; two police officers stationed 24/7 at the Health Sciences Centre and other safety and security measures.
- Additional commitments:
- Enshrine into law Manitobans’ right to good health care
- Legislate staff to patient ratios in priority areas of the health care system
- Add 141 more personal care home beds
- Launch a new patient portal for access to lab results and immunizations
- Eliminate the requirement for sick notes
- Expand the scope of practice for pharmacists
- Add more lactation consultants
- Return birthing services to Norway House Cree Nation
- Begin construction on the new Victoria General Hospital ER in January.