Manitoba Declares Public Health Emergency
Provincial officials said the emergency will expand testing as Manitoba recorded 328 new cases last year and a rate 3.5 times Canada’s.
- On Thursday, Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin declared the province's first-ever public health emergency over HIV, citing skyrocketing transmission rates and the need for coordinated action.
- Converging crises including homelessness, injection drug use, and socioeconomic inequality have driven the surge, with infection rates reaching 19.5 cases per 100,000 people, roughly 3.5 times the national rate.
- The province recorded 328 new HIV cases in 2025, with over 50 per cent involving women under 40; Northern and Prairie Mountain Health regions face the highest proportional rates, while Winnipeg records the highest total volume.
- Declaring the emergency grants Manitoba access to expanded resources and non-traditional testing, including self-testing, while allowing the government to better support those living with HIV and increase access to prevention services.
- With at least one perinatal HIV case diagnosed annually since 2021, health officials are intensifying prevention efforts; first-quarter 2026 data shows approximately 120 new cases, suggesting infections continue despite $8 million spent on treatment.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Manitoba Declares Health Emergency Amid Surge in HIV Cases
Manitoba has declared a public health emergency amid a sharp rise in HIV cases in the province. New cases of human immunodeficiency virus surged about 130 percent to 328 in 2025, up from 142 in 2021, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Brent Roussin said on May 7. The government will pursue “a more coordinated provincial response,” Roussin said at a news conference in Winnipeg, focused on raising awareness, expanding access to testing and pre…
HIV in Manitoba: province declares public-health emergency
Manitoba has declared a public-health emergency over its HIV infection rates. The province says new cases of HIV have been “steadily increasing,” driven by intravenous drug use and unprotected heterosexual sex. “Manitoba continues to experience some of the highest rates of HIV in Canada,” Dr. Brent Roussin, the province’s chief provincial public health officer, told […]
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