ManitobaPatients who identify as Indigenous, African or Black are generally spending longer in Winnipeg emergency department waiting rooms than white people, according to a new report examining how different racial groups experience patient care. Race-based data report shows African and/or Black patients wait longest to be seenIan Froese · CBC News · Posted: Jun 17, 2025 2:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: 38 minutes agoManitoba’s health-care system began asking patients to self-declare their racial or ethnic background as part of the hospital admission process, making the province the first Canadian jurisdiction to do so. (Medical-R/Shutterstock)Patients who identify as Indigenous, African or Black are generally spending longer in Winnipeg emergency department waiting rooms than white people, according to a new report examining how different racial groups experience patient care.The data also found Indigenous patients present with similar triage scores as white patients, which counters “the common stereotype of Indigenous people using the emergency departments inappropriately,” says the report prepared by Dr. Marcia Anderson, who lead the race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity data project team on behalf of Manitoba Shared Health.It also found patients who are African and/or Black wait the longest to be seen, on average, even though they’re most likely to present with a serious medical issue.The report, released Tuesday, recommends all emergency department staff “be prioritized for participation” in Indigenous cultural safety and anti-racism training, along with anti-Black racism.”Emergency departments are very stressful environments to work in, and the health system is facing challenges in many areas,” Anderson said in the report.”Unfortunately, in a system under stress, it is often those who are the most marginalized and who have the fewest resources to draw on facing the most severe impacts.”In 2023, the province’s health-care system began asking patients to self-declare their racial or ethnic background as part of the hospital admission process, making Manitoba the first Canadian jurisdiction to do so.The data from those self-declarations informed the report, which only released information from Winnipeg hospitals and the largest population groups to ensure a large enough sample size.The report also found white people are more likely to be assigned a high acuity score, which may result in those patients being prioritized for care quicker.ABOUT THE AUTHORIan Froese covers the Manitoba Legislature and provincial politics for CBC News in Winnipeg. He also serves as president of the legislature’s press gallery. You can reach him at ian.froese@cbc.ca. Twitter: @ianfroese
Indigenous, Black patients wait longer for care in Winnipeg ERs: report
