Law360 Canada (September 28, 2026, 4:53 PM EDT) -- Manitoba is strengthening workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters by widening the scope of job-related sickness and presuming their illnesses are work-related.
According to a Sept. 26
news release, the province “will make legislative changes to expand presumptive workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters, recognizing the occupational health risks they face.”
“The changes will make it easier for firefighters and wildfire fighters diagnosed with occupational illnesses to access Workers Compensation Board benefits by presuming the illness is work-related unless evidence demonstrates otherwise,” it states. “Under Manitoba’s existing legislation, firefighter presumptions are rebuttable, meaning the presumption can be challenged by evidence to the contrary.”
The release also notes the changes would “expand the scope of occupational illness.”
A request to the province for further clarity around the changes was not met by press time.
It notes the changes would also acknowledge work-related risks faced by firefighters and would make it easier for them to receive compensation.
Firefighters are regularly exposed to smoke, hazardous chemicals, carcinogens, extreme temperatures and endure physically demanding conditions that take a toll on long-term health, it states.
“Firefighters put themselves in harm’s way every day to keep Manitobans safe,” said Premier Wab Kinew in a statement. “When firefighters develop serious illnesses linked to hazards they encounter at work, they shouldn’t have to fight for support. These changes recognize their service and help ensure they can access the benefits they deserve.”
According to the
International Association of Firefighters (IAF), presumptive legislation for firefighters was in place in all of Canada’s provinces and territories as of this past March. Many forms of coverage included illnesses such as caner, heart disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Cancer remains the leading cause of “line-of-duty deaths in the fire service,” states the IAF.
It also notes that British Columbia has announced changes to its regulations that would add eight forms of cancer to that province’s “presumptive regime” — thus bringing the total number of covered cancers to 26.
This past June, the Northwest Territories
introduced legislation to strengthen presumptive health coverage for firefighters and other first responders. The new laws would expand cancer coverage to 27 types of the disease and widen coverage to include more heart-related conditions, as well as PTSD.
In 2025, Saskatchewan made changes to its
Workers’ Compensation Act to establish presumptive cancer coverage for wildland firefighters in that province. (According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, a wildland firefighter is one who works in forests, grasslands and similar environments to prevent and stop fires.)
And in late 2024, Ontario introduced legislation to expand presumptive coverage for firefighters for “primary-site” kidney cancer by lessening the required length of service from 20 years to 10 years. It also removed a requirement that a firefighter’s primary-site colorectal cancer be diagnosis before age 61.
At the time, 19 types of cancer were being covered under Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), according to a government news release.
And in 2016, Ontario passed legislation creating a presumption that a diagnosis of PTSD in first responders was job-related. The change applied to firefighters, police, paramedics, police dispatchers, firefighter and ambulance services, emergency response teams and certain workers in correctional institutions.
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