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More than 53,000 Manitobans have accessed birth control at no cost in the first year of the provincial government’s free contraception program, the province says.
Since October 2024, eligible residents have had the costs of about 60 commonly used birth control methods — including contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), hormonal implants and contraceptive injections — fully covered by the provincial pharmacare program.
A prescription and a Manitoba health card are required to access the program. Those without coverage from another federal or provincial program are eligible.
Between Oct. 2, 2024 and Oct. 21, 2025, more than 53,000 people got free birth control through the program, a provincial spokesperson says in a statement to CBC News.
That’s more than the population of Brandon.
Over that period, 190,000 prescriptions were dispensed across all types of contraceptives, the spokesperson said. Nearly nine in 10 of those prescriptions were for oral birth control — commonly referred to as “the pill.”
In a statement to CBC News, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said that the large number of prescriptions filled is a “clear sign that the demand was real.”
Making birth control free for eligible Manitobans has “opened doors” for people who previously couldn’t afford contraceptives and is making a “meaningful difference in people’s lives,” the minister said.
Winnipeg-based pharmacist Ryan Chan said it’s a “great program” that has put a smile on the face of many people since it was introduced last year.
“Most patients are ecstatic,” he said. “They’re quite happy when they find out it’s free.”
Britt Kural, a Winnipeg pharmacist and pharmacy practice adviser with Pharmacists Manitoba, said it’s a “nice surprise” for clients who no longer have to pay out of pocket for birth control.
“It’s really nice for the pharmacy teams to be able to share that good news with Manitobans as well,” Kural said.
Pharmacists still waiting for prescribing powers
While the program has made contraceptives more accessible from a cost perspective, Kural says, pharmacists can further reduce barriers if they are given prescribing powers.
In order to get the free coverage, people need to go to a hospital, doctor’s office or walk-in clinic to get a prescription written by either a doctor or a nurse practitioner.
More than 150,000 Manitobans don’t have a family doctor, according to a 2024 report from Doctors Manitoba. The province has one of the lowest doctors-per-capita rates in Canada.
“Sometimes pharmacists could be the only access to care in some communities, or the most reliable access to care, in some of those communities,” she said, adding pharmacies are often open on evenings and weekends when clinics might have reduced hours.
“We really see that there’s an opportunity for pharmacists to improve access to many primary-care services. Birth control is one of the ones that’s top of mind for pharmacists, but also for the Manitoba government right now.”
In May, Asagwara said the government would be giving pharmacists the ability to prescribe contraceptives. At the time, the minister said the government would be moving “very quickly,” with changes to be expected in the “coming days and weeks.”
The province reiterated that promise during November’s throne speech, with Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville saying Manitobans will be able to “skip the doctor’s office and pick up prescriptions for birth control, UTIs and common ailments at your local pharmacy. “
Manitoba pharmacists are still waiting.
Asagwara said the province is “committed to making reproductive care easier to reach,” in a statement to CBC News on Dec. 18, adding the government is “reviewing options” to make birth control more accessible, including expanding the role of pharmacists.
Kural said Manitoba has been “lagging” behind other provinces, including neighbouring Saskatchewan, which has allowed pharmacists to prescribe birth control since 2018. Manitoba and Ontario are the only Canadian provinces that don’t authorize pharmacists to do so.
“We’re quite limited in the activities that we can perform in Manitoba, especially compared to other provinces. And we really see that there’s an opportunity for pharmacists to fill some of the gaps that we see in healthcare,” she said.
Kural said she would like to see the province make these previously promised changes “as early in 2026 as possible.”
“We think Manitobans deserve the same level of care as other provinces,” she said.
