Winnipeg 
Manitoba has declared a public health emergency as HIV cases continue to climb across the province, with health officials warning that infection rates are now among the highest in Canada.
According to Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, new HIV diagnoses rose from 90 cases in 2019 to 328 in 2025. In 2024, Manitoba recorded 19.5 cases per 100,000 people, more than three times the national rate of 5.5.
The province said Prairie Mountain Health and Northern Health are experiencing the highest rates, while Winnipeg continues to report the largest number of overall cases. Indigenous communities and people living in rural and remote regions are being disproportionately affected.
Per the news release, Manitoba’s HIV trends differ sharply from the rest of the country. More than half of HIV cases in the province involve women, compared with the national average of 32 per cent. Officials also confirmed one perinatal HIV case in 2024 and another in 2025, meaning infants were born with HIV infections. Before that, Manitoba had not recorded a perinatal transmission since 2021.
The province is now launching an HIV Response Steering Committee that will include Indigenous leaders, health-care organizations and community groups. The committee will focus on prevention, earlier testing, improved access to care and expanding awareness of PrEP, medication that helps prevent HIV infection.
Manitoba says HIV in the province is most commonly linked to injection drug use and unprotected heterosexual sex, alongside broader issues such as homelessness, mental health challenges and substance use.
Since 2023, the government says it has invested an additional $8 million annually into HIV and sexually transmitted infection programs, including free access to HIV prevention and treatment medications through the Manitoba Enhanced Pharmacare Program.
