ManitobaAspiring paramedics can once again enter Manitoba training programs after graduating from high school.Prerequisites imposed in 2023 resulted in fewer enrollments: paramedicine schoolIan Froese · CBC News · Posted: Nov 19, 2025 4:10 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A primary care paramedicine student at Red River College Polytech shakes hands with Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara at a news conference celebrating the new cohort of paramedic students. (CBC)Aspiring paramedics can once again enter Manitoba training programs straight out of high school.Manitoba’s NDP government held a news conference Wednesday to celebrate the first students to enter Red River College Polytech’s primary care paramedicine program since prerequisite courses, imposed by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2023, are no longer required before enrolment.Last year, the Tories accused the government of “watering down” educational standards when the prerequisites — courses in anatomy and physiology — were dropped. During one question period, PC health critic Kathleen Cook read a letter from a paramedic concerned the decision would lead to “substandard care.” However, the College of Paramedics of Manitoba said the new requirement was “not as successful as hoped,” and one school — Criti Care EMS — called it a “significant barrier” to entry, since the prerequisite courses had limited availability and filled up quickly.Criti Care EMS told CBC News it only received nine applications for the September 2023 cohort, when it normally received 100 applications every year.With the prerequisites now lifted — and those courses interwoven into the program itself — the primary care classes at RRC Polytech reached capacity this fall for the first time in years, with 40 new students, 18 through the direct entry stream. The government incorrectly claimed in its news release it was increasing enrolment at the college’s program. In fact, RRC Polytech was just filling existing seats.Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, said the province is still struggling to fill paramedic jobs in rural areas.Rural training needed: unionHe said more than 200 primary-care paramedic positions are vacant, and there’s been a net gain of just one new paramedic in 2025, as of October. Linklater argued the province must establish training programs in rural communities that cater to the people living there. Otherwise, Manitoba will continue to see paramedics leave rural communities in favour of opportunities with the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service.The “government should be paying their way. If they do that, they’ll have a paramedic for life.”Rebecca Clifton with the Paramedic Association of Manitoba commended the province for making it easier for prospective students to enrol in the program. She said the full class at RRC Polytech bodes well for the future of the profession.With files from Arturo Chang
Manitoba celebrates new paramedic students after entry prerequisites dropped
