Public Consultation: Amendments to General Regulation for Approved Jurisdiction Pathway & Provisional Registration
CPSM requests feedback from the public, registrants, regulated health professionals, and other interest-holders on two proposed amendments to the CPSM General Regulation. Click on each one for more information:
Proposed amendments for Approved Jurisdiction Pathway
Proposed amendments for Reducing barriers for Provisional Registration of Family Registrants
Proposed Amendments to CPSM General Regulation – Approved Jurisdiction Pathway
CPSM is conducting a public consultation regarding proposed amendments to the CPSM General Regulation that establish an approved jurisdiction pathway to full licensure within the Regulated Health Professions Act framework.
View the draft regulation amendments here.
Background
CPSM has been working collaboratively with government over several months to advance a policy framework enabling qualified physicians from approved international jurisdictions to obtain full licensure in Manitoba more efficiently, while maintaining public protection and regulatory rigour.
Proposed amendment
The amendments explicitly enable applicants from approved jurisdictions to be eligible for registration where they:
- Are qualified for independent practice in a specialty or in family medicine in the approved jurisdiction; and
- Have completed a substantively equivalent postgraduate clinical training program.
This creates a clear regulatory basis for recognizing experienced, independently practicing physicians without requiring duplicative training, assessment, or examinations.
A formal definition of equivalent training is introduced to support consistent and defensible decision-making. A program is considered substantively equivalent where it is:
- Accredited by a postgraduate training authority in an approved jurisdiction; and
- Comparable to Manitoba-based residency training or Royal College-accredited programs, as determined by CPSM Council.
This definition anchors equivalency in both accreditation systems and comparability to Canadian training standards, preserving alignment with existing expectations for competence.
Jurisdictional approval to be vetted through CPSM Council
All jurisdiction approval must proceed through Council. A separate Council Policy will be established for this purpose.
Jurisdictions will be evaluated based on undergraduate and postgraduate medical training standards, accreditation and certification requirements, governance safeguards, registration and licensing requirements, continuing competency requirements, and other factors Council deems relevant.
This effort supports CPSM’s broader registration modernization and aligns with our mandate to collaborate with government to ensure an appropriate level of qualified medical practitioners is available in the province. The draft amendments preserve Council discretion in determining equivalency and which jurisdictions to approve.
National Context
The proposed CPSM amendments align closely with a broader, pan-Canadian shift in medical regulation toward recognizing credentials from “approved” or “comparable” international jurisdictions and enabling direct or expedited pathways to full licensure. This shift is being driven by several system pressures:
- Physician shortages and access gaps (particularly in family medicine and rural care);
- A growing reliance on internationally trained physicians (ITPs) (approximately one-third of physicians in Canada are internationally trained); and
- Recognition that traditional pathways are too restrictive for experienced physicians already practising independently abroad.
Most other Canadian medical regulatory authorities have already formally implemented an Approved Jurisdiction Route that validates all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and College of Family Physicians of Canada-recognized jurisdictions for independent physician licensure, enabling IMGs/ITPs from recognized jurisdictions to obtain direct licensure based on substantially equivalent credentials. CPSM seeks to maintain alignment.
Proposed Amendments to CPSM General Regulation - Reducing Barriers for Provisional Registration of Family Registrants
This proposed amendment to the CPSM General Regulation would reduce barriers to registrants under provisional registration for family practice.
The changes would ensure a fair and efficient pathway to integrate international medical graduates (IMGs)/internationally trained physicians (ITPs) into Manitoba’s healthcare system.
A public consultation for this amendment was previously held in April 2025 and November 2025.
The November consultation lacked the required French translation of the amendment. For this reason, the Manitoba government has advised that another consultation is required. The substance of the amendments remains the same.
Proposed changes
The original consultation resulted in the addition of a requirement for being independently engaged in the practice of medicine for at least two years, since the completion of postgraduate training.
Having made this addition, the redrafted section 3.19(1)(b)(v) are as described in the table below or view the proposed regulation amendments here.
| Current General Regulation 3.19(1)(b)(v) | Proposed amendments to CPSM General Regulation 3.19(1)(b)(v) |
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(v) he or she has satisfactorily completed at least one year of post-graduate clinical training in family medicine that meets the requirements of subclause (iv) and has had a total of at least three years practice experience in family medicine in the preceding five-year period; |
(v) the applicant: (A) satisfactorily completed at least one year of post-graduate clinical training in family medicine that meets the requirements of subclause (iv), (B) has had a total of at least 960 hours of practice experience in family medicine in the preceding 36 months, and (C) has independently engaged in the practice of family medicine for at least two years since completing post-graduate clinical training; |
We encourage you to submit your input on this proposed regulatory change.
You can submit your feedback by:
- Email to: CPSMconsultation@cpsm.mb.ca
- Mail to:
The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba
1000-1661 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3J 3T7
The deadline for feedback is August 10 at 11:59 p.m. CST.