Blog Post – May 8, 2025
“We Can’t Keep Going Like This”: Winnipeg Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence
Paramedics are often hailed as heroes, racing into crises with calm under pressure and care in chaos. But a new survey released by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU) reveals a workforce on the brink—emotionally exhausted, physically endangered, and seriously contemplating walking away.
“Doing CPR on somebody isn’t a normal human event,” said Ryan Woiden, president of MGEU Local 911 and a 25-year paramedic veteran. “Sometimes we are doing it two, three times a day. Sometimes on the same person.”
This isn’t just about long shifts or lack of resources—though those issues are front and centre. It’s about the cumulative toll of trauma, chronic understaffing, and a spike in workplace violence that’s left paramedics deeply depleted. According to the survey of 205 Winnipeg paramedics and dispatchers:
- 71% have seriously considered quitting in the past year
- 77% feel emotionally drained or burned out
- 93% have experienced violence on the job
- 24% face violent incidents daily, with another 41% experiencing it weekly
- 67% report inadequate staffing
- 63% feel unsupported by management
As Winnipeg continues to grapple with a toxic drug crisis and an overburdened emergency system, paramedics say they’re being sent into situations they aren’t resourced or rested to handle.
“While people sleep in their beds, paramedics are out there, and they’re getting things swung at them, kicked, punched — it’s all sorts of things going on out there,” Woiden shared during the press conference.
System Under Strain
Paramedics are now so overtasked that they’re sometimes assigned new calls while still offloading patients at the hospital—forced to abandon the mental reset they desperately need between emergencies. There’s little time to decompress after resuscitating a child or reversing an overdose.
Woiden and MGEU president Kyle Ross are calling on the city and province to act. Their ask: increase staffing, provide meaningful mental health supports, and re-evaluate how and when paramedics are dispatched.
Not every call needs “lights and sirens,” Woiden argued. In some cases, it may be safer and more efficient to treat people in their homes, coordinate home care, or connect them with community resources. It’s a more holistic, less reactive approach to care—one that could save lives and retain workers.
A Crisis Years in the Making
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) acknowledged the growing toll in an emailed response. Chief Christian Schmidt said the service has made recent changes to prioritize the most urgent calls and is working to improve access to mental health supports through its behavioural health unit.
Still, many believe more urgent action is needed. Ross warned that if the current trend continues, the system could face widespread psychological injuries among paramedics and a mass exodus from the profession.
Early retirements, job changes to policing or firefighting, and out-of-province moves are already happening, Woiden said. Without targeted recruitment and real improvements in work conditions, Winnipeg risks not only burning out its first responders—but leaving residents without timely emergency care.
Government Responds
In a late-day statement, the Manitoba government pointed to the hiring of 1,600 net new health care workers this past year and promised to continue staffing efforts, including hiring for a new position focused on recruiting allied health professionals like paramedics.
While the statement signals awareness, union leaders say promises won’t fix what’s broken unless paramedics feel safe, supported, and heard on the front lines.
“People call 911 expecting help to come. We want to be there. But we can’t keep going like this,” Woiden said.
The crisis isn’t just in the field. It’s in the silence that follows each call, the weight paramedics carry home, and the system that keeps asking more while offering less. If we want to keep our heroes, it’s time we start treating them like human beings.
