Finance Minister Cameron Friesen announced that Budget 2022 prioritizes the health and well-being of Manitobans with a $7.2-billion investment to strengthen the health-care system.

“The global pandemic revealed system challenges in our health-care system – it revealed the need for greater flexibility and capacity to respond to a crisis, the need to reduce diagnostic and surgical wait times, the need to provide more compassionate care for seniors and to address the mental health and addictions challenges in our communities,” said Friesen. “Manitobans have told us that health care is their number one priority and we are responding with the most significant health-care investment in the history of our province.”

Key investments to strengthen the health-care system for all Manitobans include:

  • $110 million to reduce pandemic diagnostic and surgical backlogs;
  • $9 million for additional beds to increase capacity in Manitoba’s intensive care units;
  • over $100 million for the St. Boniface Hospital emergency room (ER) redevelopment, tripling the size of its ER;
  • $17 million for implementing year one of the five-year A Pathway to Mental Health and Community Wellness: A Roadmap for Manitoba;
  • nearly $20 million for developing a new seniors strategy;
  • $32 million to continue to implement initiatives from the Stevenson Review and strengthen long-term care for Manitoba seniors and their families;
  • more than $11 million for increasing nursing enrolment in Manitoba’s post-secondary institutions;
  • $812 million in continued capital commitment for rural and northern health care under the five-year Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventative Services Plan; and
  • $630 million for ongoing COVID-19 response and other contingencies.

The province continues to implement initiatives that will improve timely access to health care through the work of the Diagnostic and Surgical Recovery Task Force, which was established last year to lead this critical work for Manitobans, the minister noted.

“Through their efforts, we are expanding capacity at Concordia Hospital that will add 1,000 surgeries a year,” said Friesen. “We are expanding Misericordia Hospital’s cataract program and increasing gynecological surgeries at Maples Surgical Centre. We are investing in the Spine Assessment Clinic to increase the number of assessments for Manitobans and we have entered into an agreement with Sanford Health in Fargo, North Dakota to increase spinal procedures for Manitobans. A new mobile CT scan and two new mobile MRI units will help reduce wait time for Manitobans. We have made progress, there is more to do and Budget 2022 will help Manitobans access the care they need, when they need it.”

The minister noted the province is consulting on a new seniors strategy on all aspects of care, helping ensure seniors can stay in the homes they love as long as they can with the necessary supports.

This year’s budget invests millions more in mental health and addictions services, bringing the total investment to $390 million this year.

Last year, the province established a new strategy to deal with mental health and addictions challenges in Manitoba communities. Manitoba’s mental health roadmap provides a comprehensive strategy to guide investments in core services for mental health, addictions and community wellness. Budget 2022 supports the strategy with more than $17 million in new investments.

Since 2018, the province has opened six Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine (RAAM) clinics across Manitoba in Winnipeg, Selkirk, Brandon, Thompson and Portage la Prairie. This year’s budget invests nearly $1 million to expand capacity to increase hours of operation, helping hundreds more Manitobans on their journey to recovery.

Looking forward, the minister noted the new acute stroke unit at Health Sciences Centre will open this year, providing stroke patients with the world-class treatment they deserve, and saving and restoring lives. The province will invest $812 million to build, expand and fix health-care facilities in all regions of the province in support of Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventative Services Plan including building new hospitals in Portage la Prairie and Neepawa, and expanded facilities in Morden-Winkler, Brandon, Steinbach, Selkirk and Dauphin.

The minister noted Budget 2022 makes strategic investments to ensure social and economic recovery with a focus on the health and well-being of all Manitobans, and is committed to:

  • strengthening health care;
  • making life more affordable;
  • building our economy;
  • investing in our communities; and
  • protecting our environment.

Budget 2022 documents are available at manitoba.ca.