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August 13, 2025

Media Releases

Meeting the Moment: College of Registered Nurses Implements Major Updates Supporting Internationally Educated Nurses and All Applicants in Manitoba

WINNIPEG – With multiple serious challenges gripping the health system in Manitoba, the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (College) has answered the call to act with urgency and with the flexibility required to make consequential updates to support the growth of the nursing workforce in Manitoba.

“Today, the College is pleased to announce the completion of a range of initiatives to streamline and modernize registration processes for internationally educated nurses (IENs) and all applicants in Manitoba,” said Deb Elias RN, CEO and Registrar of the College. “We made a promise in June to make pragmatic and tangible improvements to the registration experience for internationally educated nurses (IENs) and all applicants. Today’s announcement demonstrates we have kept that promise, and is a testament to how we will continue to act both independently and in alignment with our partners to help meet Manitoba’s health care needs.”

As of today’s date, the following initiatives have been completed:

  • Broadened eligibility for expedited registration pathways to include:
    • Applicants who are currently registered as RNs and practicing in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, even if their initial nursing education was completed in a different country;
    • Acceptance of a range of associate degrees from the United States for applicants with sufficient RN practice experience.
  • Updates to currency of practice requirements to ensure all new registrants have an equal opportunity to meet practice hour requirements for annual registration renewal, backstopping internationally-educated and Canadian-educated labour mobility applicants’ capacity to successfully integrate into Manitoba’s nursing workforce; and
  • Implementation of a Registration Pathway Coordinator position to support applicants’ successful navigation of registration pathways including IEN and labour mobility applicants.

Additionally, the following initiatives are expected to be completed by early fall 2025:

  • Identification and acceptance of additional educational credential assessment (ECA) services to assess education comparability as part of the IEN registration process, reducing both the time and cost for IEN applicants who may already have ECA reports prepared;
  • Expanded use of conditional registration to allow more applicants to get to work more quickly, including allowing registration with targeted restrictions (e.g. temporary exclusion from specialized areas like maternal/child health or pediatrics), with conditions lifted upon completion of remedial coursework; and
  • Implementation of a designated application pathway for internationally educated nurse practitioners (NPs), ensuring that NPs with comparable education and practice experience can quickly adapt to and join the health workforce in Manitoba.

Continuing work to further modernize and support applicants to the College

Further initiatives are underway, including modernizing documentation requirements for applicants, review of the clinical competence assessment (CCA), and longer-term efforts to create a unified readiness-to-practice assessment for LPN, RN and RPN applicants in Manitoba, as well as other ongoing continuous improvement efforts. Some changes will require updates to the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba General Regulation, which the College has formally asked the Manitoba government to implement.

“The College is steadfastly committed to listening, learning, and working with our partners to ensure a supportive environment for skilled nurses who choose to build their careers here in Manitoba,” Elias said. “As the registered nursing regulator in Manitoba, we know we must be agile to meet evolving needs in the health system, to anticipate risks as a result of change, and to ensure our policies and processes are proportionate, focused and transparent to help ensure safe registered nursing care. While we may not always find perfect consensus with all interested parties, we will continue to engage and fairly consider all perspectives, meeting the moment with the urgency and seriousness that applicants, our registrants and the public require.”

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Martin Lussier
Manager of Communications and Public Engagement
mlussier@crnm.mb.ca
204-789-0662

For new/prospective applicants requesting assistance or further information, please contact:

Registration Pathway Coordinator
Email: pathfinder@crnm.mb.ca
Telephone: 204-774-3477 – Select option ‘9’ for the Registration Pathway Coordinator
Toll-free 1-800-665-2027 (Manitoba only)

Additional background: