Dauphin is set to play an important role in helping to address a shortage of paramedics in the province.
During his State of the Province address hosted by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce last week, Premier Wab Kinew announced a $115,000 investment for Assiniboine College to create a new rotating rural Primary Care Paramedic Program, with the first cohort starting at Parkland Campus in Dauphin.
The program will increase access for rural and western Manitoba students, helping build a stronger pipeline of paramedics for communities across the region.
The initiative will support more students moving through the emergency medical responder to primary care paramedic pathway, while allowing them to train closer to where they live.
“Paramedics are the first to arrive when your family needs emergency care and their work is valued by our government,” Kinew said.
“We’ve made progress training and hiring more paramedics in Westman, but we know there is more to do. That’s why we are creating a new Primary Care Paramedic Program at Assiniboine College.”
In keeping with a focus on health care, the premier announced the creation of 148 new child care spaces at the Brandon Regional Health Centre, set to open in 2027. The project is part of the largest capital child care project the province has started to date.
“Because child care is essential to growing the health workforce, we are also creating a new child-care centre at the Brandon hospital built to care for your children while you are caring for others,” Kinew said.
“Together, these investments will help us recruit and retain more health care workers in Westman.”
The premier also highlighted several recent and ongoing provincial investments benefiting the region including:
• providing $9.7 million to rebuild and repave 18th Street in Brandon, which was voted CAA Manitoba’s worst road in 2024;
• investing in the Park Community Centre, with construction expected to begin this year;
• opening the Brandon Minor Injury and Illness Clinic, which saw more than 10,000 patient visits in 2025;
• undertaking action to challenge restrictive property controls held by Sobeys, including controls connected to an empty grocery store property in Brandon, to help increase competition and improve affordability;
• advancing nearly $3 billion in energy projects in western Manitoba, including a new 750-megawatt dual-fuel turbine project to support growing energy needs and economic development opportunities; and
• creating a new critical care unit at the Brandon Regional Health Centre as part of a $120-million expansion project, allowing more patients to receive advanced care closer to home, which will include new, modern private intensive care unit rooms.