Student Life in Manitoba: Health Coverage, Transit, Work and Campus Culture

Health coverage while you study

If you are a Manitoba resident, you are already enrolled in the Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care plan (often called MHSIP), which covers medically necessary physician and hospital care at no direct charge at the point of service. Studying at a Manitoba institution does not change your provincial coverage. Your student union health and dental plan, sold separately through your students' association, adds coverage for prescriptions, dental and vision that MHSIP does not include.

If you plan to study away from Manitoba for a semester or a full term outside the province or country, report the absence. Manitoba Health requires you to report any planned absence of 90 days or more within a 12 month period, ideally 6 to 8 weeks before you leave, so your coverage does not lapse, according to the Leaving Manitoba Temporarily page. If you move to another province permanently, MHSIP coverage continues for the rest of the month you leave plus two additional months, per the Leaving Manitoba Permanently page, which matters if you graduate and relocate for work before your new province's plan activates.

Working while enrolled

Manitoba's minimum wage is $16.00 an hour as of October 1, 2025, and rises to $16.40 an hour on October 1, 2026, under the province's annual inflation-indexed adjustment, according to a provincial news release . There is no separate student minimum wage in Manitoba, so campus jobs, retail and food service positions all pay at least the general rate.

Most students work part-time during term and increase hours over summer. Campus job boards at each institution list on-campus positions, which tend to work around class schedules more easily than off-campus retail shifts. If you hold a work-study or research assistant position, confirm whether your hours count against any co-op or program requirement, since some programs cap outside work during placement terms.

Getting around: Winnipeg Transit

Winnipeg Transit prices a discounted post-secondary Peggo card for students at eligible institutions. As of January 1, 2025 the post-secondary monthly pass cost $92.40, compared with a regular adult monthly pass at $115.50, according to Winnipeg Transit's fare page . You need a valid student ID from a participating institution to load the discounted fare onto your Peggo card.

Separately, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and their student unions run a U-Pass program, which bundles a discounted transit pass into your student fees for the fall and winter semesters. Check with your student union whether U-Pass is opt-in or automatically charged, since the two schools structure it differently and rules can change by year.

Campus culture and the academic year

• Fall term runs September to December and winter term January to April at most Manitoba institutions, with a longer holiday break in December than many other provinces.

• Winnipeg winters run cold and long, from November into March, so budget for proper winter gear if you are moving from a milder climate or from outside Canada.

• Student unions at the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, Brandon University and Université de Saint-Boniface run clubs, intramurals and varsity athletics through U SPORTS, the national governing body for Canadian university sport.

• French-language student life is concentrated at Université de Saint-Boniface, Manitoba's French-language university, which runs its own clubs and services distinct from the English-language institutions.