March 30, 2026

Greetings!

I am writing with good news about a remuneration increase under our current Physician Services Agreement, as well as an update on our preparations to negotiate the next Agreement.

First, however, I want to ensure you are aware of the following events and invite you to join us!

• April 15 – Annual General Meeting. Join us virtually on Zoom or in person in Portage for our AGM. Register here.
• May 1 – Awards Gala. This is our signature annual event, and we’re over 85% sold out! Find out more and get the early bird rate by March 31!

Remuneration Increases

I’m pleased to confirm that the provincial budget includes funding to increase physician remuneration by 2% on April 1, as negotiated in our 2023 Physician Services Agreement (PSA). This is an across-the-board increase for all specialties, including surgical, diagnostic, medical and family medicine physicians:

• All fee-for-service tariffs will increase by 2%.
• All alternate-funded agreements will increase by 2%.
• All collective agreements will increase by 2%.

This is the final increase of our current PSA, which expires in March 2027. This current Agreement has offered:

• A $21,000 retention payment in 2023.
• Year 1: Market adjustments to ensure all specialties and remuneration were competitive with other provinces.
• Year 2: A 2% across-the-board increase plus new funding to support family physicians and medical specialists.
• Year 3: Another 2% across-the-board increase.
• Year 4: Final 2% increase, as of April 1, 2026.

If you do not see new rates with the 2% increase reflected in your remuneration starting in April, please contact our team at practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca.

Preparing for the Next Agreement

Work is well underway as we prepare to negotiate the next PSA. We have strengthened our approach to provide more opportunities for input, especially for sub-specialties and smaller groups that have felt unheard in the past. This work has included a call for feedback last year, town halls with every specialty and section, and a survey last month. Working groups have been established to help guide the more technical aspects of negotiations.

Across different specialties and locations of practice, we have heard strong consistent themes. 

Most physicians want to see action in a few key areas:

• Keeping physician funding competitive with other provinces.
• Expanding benefit and rebate programs to keep up with increasing costs and recruitment.
• Targeting funding to specialties and communities with the biggest doctor shortages.
• Maintaining and enhancing improvements in the current Agreement, such as Family Medicine Plus, hospital premiums, and Continuing Patient Care Management by Medical Specialists.  
• Continuing resources for physician health programming.
• Addressing system issues such as excessive administrative burden or other issues that get in the way of providing appropriate care.

We heard from over 1,200 physicians in our survey last month, to seek broader feedback on the early priorities and issues identified so far. 


We learned that:

• 84% of members validated we had captured top concerns and priorities for their specialty, with some offering additions which our team is reviewing.
• 78% of members agreed Doctors Manitoba is ready to negotiate.

Even though these initial metrics show our team is largely on track, they also show some members have further feedback, and that is feedback we are eager to hear. If you haven’t yet shared your views, you can send them to us in confidence to practiceadvice@doctorsmanitoba.ca.

The fiscal climate continues to be very constrained, with governments across Canada focused on reducing their deficits. This is a challenge as we enter negotiations with the province of Manitoba, but it is one our team has navigated before and is ready to confront in the month ahead.

Thank you for your continued commitment to your patients and your colleagues. I hope see you at the Awards Gala on May 1, and our AGM on April 15!

Sincerely,

NICHELLE L. DESILETS, BSc, MD, CCFP, ESS

President