The Manitoba government says that it is delivering more hip and knee surgeries than ever before, with 7,056 joint replacement procedures completed across the province in 2025, the highest annual total on record.
“This is what rebuilding health care looks like. We are delivering more hip and knee surgeries than ever before because we listened to the front lines, invested in made-in-Manitoba solutions and stayed focused on getting results,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “Instead of sending patients out of province, we’re expanding capacity here at home, targeting people who have been waiting the longest, and modernizing how care is delivered. A record number of surgeries means fewer Manitobans waiting in pain and more people getting back to their lives.”
This record level of surgical activity reflects a deliberate focus on patients who have been waiting the longest for care, supported by Manitoba’s centralized Surgical Wait Information Management system which helps ensure surgeries are assigned based on clinical need and length of wait. It also reflects a major shift in how care is delivered, with nearly 70 per cent of joint replacements now performed as outpatient procedures, allowing patients to recover at home and freeing up inpatient hospital beds.
The Manitoba government’s 2024 investment in a new surgical program at Selkirk Regional Health Centre included funding to add staff and expand operating room capacity. As a result, 591 joint replacement surgeries were completed as of December 2025, putting the program on track to deliver 800 procedures by the end of the fiscal year. The program continues to prioritize patients who have been waiting the longest, accelerating access to care while maintaining safe, high-quality outcomes and reducing long-standing hip and knee surgery backlogs.
“I received excellent care from the moment I walked into Selkirk Regional Health Centre to when I had surgery and throughout my ongoing recovery,” said Darlene Yurkiw, a recipient of a joint replacement. “If I didn’t have this surgery, I imagine my mobility and my quality of life would be lower. I used to not be able to put on shoes or socks at all, but now I can, with a little pain, but this is definitely progress in the right direction. I can even do some moderate hiking now, which is huge for me as a nature lover, so I am grateful.”
The hip and knee surgery expansion is part of the Manitoba government’s broader work over the past year to rebuild health care and increase system capacity. The Manitoba government has added 3,500 net-new health-care workers provincewide, including nurses, physicians and allied health professionals, and opened 323 fully staffed hospital beds to better meet patient demand.
Reducing surgical wait times also requires action across the entire health-care system. Over the past year, the Manitoba government has strengthened primary care through initiatives such as Health Links and supported recovery at home through the Virtual Medicine Ward, helping reduce pressure on emergency departments and hospitals and free up capacity for surgeries.
These systemwide improvements are reflected in newly released national data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which highlights record surgical volumes and a growing shift toward outpatient hip and knee procedures, supporting better patient flow and more efficient use of hospital resources.
