Steinbach Fire Chief Kel Toews is warning residents about a growing shortage of paramedics in Manitoba that is forcing local firefighters to pick up the slack. Data from the provincial health agency, Shared Health, shows that 28 percent of primary care paramedic positions in rural areas like Westman were vacant as of December 2025, a significant increase from two years prior.
The Steinbach Fire Department had its busiest year on record in 2025, handling 398 emergency calls. This was a 30 percent jump from the year before, even though the department only has one full-time staff member and relies on a team of paid-on-call volunteers.
Chief Toews noted that firefighters are increasingly called for lift-assist incidents, where they help ambulance crews move patients who are difficult to carry. These calls more than doubled between 2021 and 2022, leading the Steinbach City Council to ask the provincial government to stop shifting these medical costs onto the local city budget.
According to the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, some rural patients now wait up to an hour for an ambulance to arrive. While the provincial government promised to hire 200 new paramedics during its first term, records show only 18 net new staff members have been added to the workforce since October 2023.
The shortage has led to situations in other parts of the province, such as Brandon, where the city is occasionally left with only one ambulance available while others are sent on long trips to hospitals in Winnipeg. Local officials remain concerned that these staffing gaps are creating dangerous delays for people who need emergency medical help.
