Political 'instability' a factor in move to Manitoba, says 1 of 6 docs recruited from U.S.

Dr. Arleigh Trainor says the main reasons for her impending move from the U.S. back to Manitoba are family, a career opportunity and a chance to practise medicine in Canada’s universal health-care system.

But the Manitoba-born emergency physician acknowledged "instability" following the change in U.S. government last November played a small role in her decision too.

She’s accepted a position to work in the emergency department in the southwestern Manitoba city of Brandon starting in February 2026.

"I am incredibly excited about it — number 1 to be coming home," Trainor told CBC in a Zoom interview from Sioux Falls, S.D., where she currently works as an emergency physician.

She’s one of six American doctors recently hired by Manitoba health officials as they ramp up recruitment efforts in the U.S. amid funding cuts and uncertainty under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Trainor says she's "a huge proponent of socialized medicine," and sees Canada as a place where patients can get "wonderful care … [that] doesn’t bankrupt you."

She said she's looking forward to working in a system that prioritizes preventative care, adding she believes it’s important that vulnerable populations can access treatment.

Trainor also said investments in improving health care, medical research and education are a big draw.

Recruiters should be advertising "how much effort is being put by the province to put medicine at the forefront for the population of Manitoba, because all doctors want to help people," she said.

Trainor, who has worked in the United States for the past 25 years, also thinks the relative stability of the Canadian system could be a big selling feature to other U.S. providers who may be considering a change. 

"Doctors abhor instability. It’s hard enough being an emergency medicine physician, because our kind of baseline is working within chaos," Trainor said.

"We want stability. We want to know what the rules are, what the regulations are and how we can have ease of treating our patients."

While she has yet to encounter a specific example of Trump administration policies affecting her work as an emergency physician, Trainor questioned whether that might change if she stayed.

"There’s a lot of changes going on right now," Trainor said.