Manitoba Health is urging parents to consider the risk of measles while travelling or attending large gatherings over spring break or upcoming holidays, in a bid to slow down Canada’s worst active outbreak.
School divisions sent letters to families, on behalf of Manitoba Health, ahead of the spring vacation (March 30-April 3) and overlapping events or major religious celebrations, including Easter and Passover.
“It’s reasonable to expect we could see an increase in cases in two to three weeks after some of these major gatherings have occurred,” said Dr. Davinder Singh, who is leading Manitoba’s response to the outbreak.
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Dr. Davinder Singh
A spike in confirmed cases at the start of 2026 was partially attributed to December holiday gatherings.
“I would say we should expect that something similar could occur,” Singh said.
The letter urged parents, guardians and caregivers to stay home, and avoid travel and events if someone in their household has or is believed to have the highly contagious disease.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles, the letter said.
Singh said measles has been detected in many communities, including the high number of cases in Winkler, Morden and the nearby rural municipalities of Dufferin, Rhineland, Roland, Stanley and Thompson, in the Southern Health region. The region’s measles vaccination rates are the lowest in Manitoba.
Manitoba had the highest number of detected cases in Canada in 2026 as of March 14, with 319 confirmed and 45 probable infections. The true number is likely much higher.
Manitoba surpassed its 2025 total (319 confirmed cases and 29 probable) in the first 2 1/2 months of 2026.
The latest federal surveillance report (up to March 7) said Manitoba accounted for almost 63 per cent of all confirmed cases in Canada this year.
Most of Manitoba’s cases involved unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children. The province said 20 of 34 patients who were hospitalized were under the age of 10.
Several schools in southern Manitoba were previously identified as measles exposure sites by the province. J.H Bruns Collegiate in Winnipeg was one of the most recent, with an exposure date of March 16.
“The school is co-operating fully and following public health direction,” Christian Michalik, the superintendent and CEO of Louis Riel School Division, wrote in an email to the Free Press.
He said the division shared Manitoba Health’s letter with families, and continues to work closely with public health.
“Across the division, schools are reinforcing routine health practices — encouraging families and staff to follow public health guidance, monitoring attendance, and communicating promptly when directed,” Michalik wrote.
Dan Ward, superintendent of Winkler-based Garden Valley School Division, said the letter was sent to the parents and guardians of all students.
“Garden Valley School Division continues to work closely with Southern Health–Santé Sud to ensure that families and staff who may have been at risk of exposure are notified,” he wrote in an email.
Tony Kreml, superintendent of Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg, encouraged parents to follow public health guidance.
TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES
Dozens of out-of-town visitors are believed to have contracted measles after attending Brandon’s Ag-Days in January.
“It’s a matter of public health, and just getting people information so that they can make educated decisions,” he said about the letter.
Health officials offered similar advice ahead of the six-day Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon, which is expected to welcome about 40,000 visitors, starting March 30.
Officials fear a repeat of Manitoba Ag Days, also held in Brandon, where dozens of out-of-town attendees are believed to have contracted measles in January.
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Singh said Manitoba’s weekly number of cases fluctuates, but remains high. It’s not yet clear when the outbreak will ease.
“It will occur at some point, either through increase in immunization… or because enough people will have gotten measles that, essentially, there’s a large enough group of people that are immune that it can’t really go anywhere,” he said.
The measles virus spreads through close contact with an infected person and through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a characteristic red, blotchy rash. Infection can result in serious illness or death.
LUKAS SCHULZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Letters sent home to families from Manitoba school divisions on behalf of Manitoba Health say that vaccination is the best way to prevent measles.
Two vaccine doses provide 97 per cent protection, officials said. Almost 90 per cent of cases in Manitoba were not vaccinated.
Southern Health had Manitoba’s lowest measles vaccination rates for children in 2024. Singh has said only 55.9 per cent of children in the region had received two doses by age seven.
Uptake was higher in Manitoba’s four other health regions: Winnipeg (80.6 per cent), Prairie Mountain (75.1 per cent), Northern (71.4 per cent) and Interlake-Eastern (69.5 per cent). The provincial average was 72.8 per cent.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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