Manitoba is looking to bolster its paramedic ranks by introducing a direct pathway for high school students and others interested in becoming first responders.
Fourteen spots in the primary health care program at Red River Polytechnic College are now reserved for direct entry students.
These places include an expanded curriculum that includes required courses such as anatomy and physiology, so students do not have to attend other forms of post-secondary education before beginning paramedic training, Education Minister Renee Cable said Wednesday.
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Prime Minister Wab Kinew joins Ministers Uzoma Asagwara and Renee Cable at the announcement of fourteen Direct Entry Places in the Primary Health Care Paramedic Program at Red River Polytechnic College on Wednesday.
“It really allows people to find their way faster,” Cable said. “One of the things we realized very early on is that we needed to break down as many barriers to entry as possible.”
The move reverses a decision made by the former Progressive Conservative government that required primary care paramedics to take a six-credit course in anatomy and physiology. As a result, some higher education institutions later reported a decline in registrations.
The province will write a letter offering employment to each participant in the program, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said.
Union leaders representing Manitoba paramedics have long expressed alarm about the impact of high vacancy rates, burnout and violent incidents on the job on the profession.
Before winning the October 2023 election, the NDP promised to address the problem by adding 200 new emergency medical services officers during its first term.
Premier Wab Kinew said the 14 direct entry slots are a new addition to the RRC and will increase the class capacity of its paramedic program to 40 students.
In a press release, the province touted the move as “taking important steps to strengthen emergency medical services across the province by expanding training opportunities for paramedics.”
However, Manitoba Health Professionals Association president Jason Linklater disputed that claim.
“I want to be a little clear on that part of the announcement. There are no new locations. They had 40 locations in Red River and they still have 40 locations,” Linklater said.
“The difference now is they're taking away the prerequisites and putting them in the program. I really think (Wednesday's announcement) glosses over the problem… What's needed is capacity and dedicated support.”
Linklater, whose union represents all paramedics outside of Winnipeg and Brandon, said paramedic vacancies remain widespread in rural areas, where the union estimates there is a shortage of 200 positions.
Earlier this month, the Manitoba Government and Employees Union, which represents paramedics in Winnipeg, said there were 47 positions vacant in Winnipeg as of Jan. 1.
In a statement, the union called the addition of the direct entry process “encouraging” but said it was “only the first step in addressing the staffing crisis.”
“Adding training spaces alone is not enough,” said MGEU President Kyle Ross. “More needs to be done to address the day-to-day challenges these workers face.”
Ruth Bonneville/Free Press
Education Minister Renee Cable: “It really helps people find their way faster.”
Meanwhile, “hiring has stalled” as the ranks of paramedics dwindle due to burnout and attrition, Linklater said.
He said the province added just one new paramedic in 2025, bringing the total number of new hires to 34 since the NDP was elected.
“The work of fixing the damage done to health care… cannot be fixed overnight. It takes time, it takes teamwork, it takes sustained effort,” Asagwara said when asked about the union's data.
Linklater said there is “no way” the province will make good on its promise to hire 200 new paramedics based on the current trajectory, but a provincial spokesperson said Manitoba has already met its goal.
The spokesperson said 276 primary care paramedics were hired in Manitoba from October 2023 to September this year. During this time, 45 people were laid off or resigned, leaving a net profit of 231 people.
During the same period, 91 dual-training firefighter-paramedics were hired and 40 were laid off, for a net increase of 41, the spokesman said.
Linklater noted that the province has not provided RRC Polytech with new funding to support the direct entry program.
A provincial spokesperson confirmed this to be true, saying the expansion is supported by existing resources.
The province said it also added 16 direct-entry places at Northern University College in Thompson.
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River Polytechnic College's creative communications program, he has written for Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record And Express Weekly News before joining the newspaper in 2022. More about Tyler.
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