MRI wait times soar in Manitoba

WINNIPEG – The annual median wait for an MRI in Manitoba is at its highest level since at least 2019, nearly two years after the provincial NDP were elected on a promise to fix the healthcare system.

Provincial data suggests annual median MRI waits have gone up to 26 weeks so far in 2025 from 20 weeks in 2023.

The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists says a few factors could be driving the surging MRI waits, including aging equipment that has led to breakdowns lasting weeks, an aging population, high burnout among staff and the way technologists are trained in Manitoba.

“We feel as MRTs [medical radiation technologists], the public has the perception that we’re not working hard, and we really are. We really want to have patients get the scans that they need in a really timely fashion,” said Dayna McTaggart (pictured), the association’s provincial manager.

“Giving us the resources we need to do that is essential,” told CBC News.

Manitoba currently has 115 certified MRI technologists, not all of whom may be practising, McTaggart said.

In 2023, the number dipped to 106 from 120 the year before.

McTaggart says it has fluctuated based on retirements and those who’ve left the profession due to burnout and workplace culture.

Red River College Polytech offers the only MRI technologist program in Manitoba, and Saskatchewan doesn’t have one.

Red River’s 8?-month-long program requires students to have a prior degree or diploma in medical radiologic technology, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy or ultrasound.

McTaggart says that makes it challenging for potential students.

“I have heard of MRTs who have attempted to do a work-study balance in the past and haven’t been successful to do that, so typically it involves you resigning from your position or taking a leave to immerse yourself full time and study,” McTaggart said.

“It’s also leading some MRTs in Manitoba to investigate distance education options elsewhere.”

Red River’s MRI and spectroscopy program has 10 seats, and in the last few years, about five students have graduated annually who’ve then also successfully passed their licensing exams, Tammy Harper, the school’s associate dean of health and community services, told CBC last week.

The program is currently under review, with hopes that work will be completed this year.

Harper says “nothing is off the table” as the institution considers labour market needs and weighs what other schools are doing.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the province continues to work with post-secondary institutions, including Red River, to fast-track pathways for training and incentivize potential students.

“We’re finding ways to get more folks choosing this as a career path and making sure they have a job offer in their hands long before they graduate.”

Manitoba has 14 MRI machines, along with a mobile MRI service that began seeing patients in June.

Asagwara says the province is looking to add more equipment, “whether it’s Portage Place or other locations.”

“We’ve added the mobile MRI in the north. That’s a huge addition, and it redirects hundreds of people away from MRIs in Winnipeg,” Asagwara said.

“But there’s more work to be done. We need to retain and we need to train more technologists.”

CBC asked Shared Health about the equipment breakdowns and for comment on the rising MRI waits but did not hear back before publication.

The provincial health organization began offering return of service agreements for people enrolling in Red River’s MRI program in 2024 and 2025, McTaggart said.

As of March, Shared Health has also required primary care providers to complete a checklist when requesting knee MRIs to make sure the cases are suitable for the test.