Province hopes to pluck nurses from the U.S.

The Manitoba government is trying to lure American nurses hoping to escape the political turmoil in the U.S.

Shared Health has launched a recruitment campaign south of the border in an effort to bring nurses from the U.S. to Manitoba. The initiative is to offer asylum to working nurses worried about their ability to care for patients while addressing the province’s nurse shortage.

“(We) certainly recognize that perhaps there are health-care workers living in red states that are looking for opportunities right now,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Wednesday.

“I’ve heard directly from American health-care workers — nurses included — who are worried about their ability to provide care to all U.S. citizens and to practise all kinds of health care safely.”

On Wednesday, the province’s health-care retention and recruitment office conducted a series of virtual open house sessions to advertise Manitoba as offering competitive wages, benefits, work-life balance and job security in a safe and welcoming environment.

“Manitoba is home to culturally diverse populations and welcoming communities, with a strong focus on providing safe and inclusive health services that meet the needs of all residents,” a March 14 advertisement on Shared Health’s Instagram page read.

The social media campaign also mentioned a streamlined process for transferring a U.S. nursing licence to Manitoba, relocation support, extended health benefits, an employer-paid pension and flexible employment options to “suit your lifestyle.”

The province’s recruitment and retention fund offers thousands of dollars in grants and incentives for eligible nurses who relocate.

The effort is part of Manitoba’s larger recruitment and retention strategy for the health-care system, which exceeded its goal of adding 1,000 net-new health-care workers.

Between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, the province hired 1,255 net-new health-care workers. That included 481 nurses.

The province has recruited three nurses through the U.S. campaign so far, Asagwara said.

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, is optimistic about the province’s efforts but worries the NDP government is poaching from countries already struggling with its own workforce.

“No matter how many we recruit, we cannot retain,” she said. “But, with what’s happening in the U.S. right now, we should be an asylum — and if it’s a nurse, so be it.”

Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders targeting the health-care system, including ones to end federal support for gender-affirming care, exit the World Health Organization and no longer recognize transgender and non-binary identities.

His hand-picked choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as health and human services secretary has also raised concerns.

Kennedy has been a vocal opponent of vaccinations and continues to claim vaccines cause autism, a suggestion that has been debunked in myriad science-based studies. He is also a proponent of drinking unpasteurized milk, a practise that food scientists have warned against.

Chris Rubesch, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association recognizes the difficulties his sector is facing and hears from colleagues who are seeking to move to Canada.

“I’ve certainly heard that discussed,” Rubesch said. “I think a lot of nurses in Minnesota, and more broadly, are always considering where they can safely live and work in practice.”

The association represents 25,000 nurses across Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Iowa. It also faces a workforce shortage.

Rubesch admits politics could be at play.

“If our members are looking elsewhere for a working situation or working environment, that’s a better fit for themselves, you know that’s definitely something that those workers need to do to prioritize their own safety and well-being.”

Nurses in the U.S. could also see the benefit of working north of the border, said Chris Adams, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Manitoba.

“There’s a growing sense that Canada is a good place to live,” he said.

The recruitment and retention office has worked to make transferring foreign U.S. nursing licences to Manitoba easier, which was a roadblock during previous recruitment efforts, including the previous Progressive Conservative government’s appeal to health-care workers in the Philippines.

In 2023, Asagwara addressed licensing issues after Filipino nurse recruits were having their jobs rescinded after failing clinical competence assessments and being unable to secure a spot in bridging education programs.

The Philippines campaign recruited 147 candidates.

Doctors Manitoba, who launched a similar campaign in December to recruit doctors south of the border, said it is also working with the province to ease the pathway to working in Manitoba.

“We want to play our part in helping to make the transition to practice in Manitoba as seamless as possible,” Doctors Manitoba CEO Theresa Oswald said in an email.

The physician advocacy organization took out ads in medical magazines and newsletters targeted for doctors to entice health-care providers in North Dakota, Florida and other states where abortion and gender-affirming care have become deeply politicized issues.

The ads promised practice where doctors are “valued and trusted as a physician and the government stays out of the exam room.”

Since its launch, Doctors Manitoba has received 30 queries from doctors considering practice in Manitoba.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca