Premier Wab Kinew Directs $45 Million to End Mandatory Nurse Overtime and Reopen Rural ERs

WINNIPEG — Premier Wab Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara unveiled a comprehensive $45 million healthcare stabilization plan on Tuesday at St. Boniface Hospital, delivering on a signature commitment to eliminate mandatory 16-hour overtime shifts for nurses and stabilize emergency care across rural Manitoba.

The initiative addresses years of severe healthcare workforce burnout that led to rolling emergency room closures in communities including Eriksdale, Grandview, and Carberry.

Restoring Front-Line Nursing Capacity Under the Manitoba Healthcare Retention and Recruitment Plan:

• $25 million is dedicated to establishing full-time float pools across the Prairie Mountain, Interlake-Eastern, and Southern Health regions, ensuring sudden absences are covered without mandating overtime.
• $12 million provides retention bonuses and enhanced night-shift premiums for bedside nurses in acute care and critical care units.
• $8 million expands specialized training seats at Red River College Polytechnic and Brandon University for nurse practitioners and emergency medical responders.

"When healthcare workers are exhausted from working back-to-back double shifts, patient care suffers and caregivers leave the profession," Premier Kinew stated. "We promised Manitobans that we would treat nurses with respect, end the reliance on high-cost private temp agencies, and fix rural healthcare. Today's investment is a major step toward fulfilling that promise."

Transitioning Away from Private Nursing Agencies Minister Asagwara highlighted that Manitoba spent over $60 million in the previous fiscal year on private travel nursing agencies. The provincial health authority has issued notices phasing out non-specialized agency contracts, redirecting funds into direct provincial compensation and permanent hospital staff positions.

Representatives from the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) commended the announcement, calling the end of mandated overtime an essential milestone for workplace safety and nursing retention.