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Where Care Begins
Your support brings timely diagnosis and care to people across Manitoba
Where Care Begins is a campaign with a $5-million goal in private support, focused
on raising critical funds to:
Build dedicated lab and imaging spaces to train Combined Laboratory & X-Ray Technology students in real clinical environments.
Create modern laboratory spaces to prepare Medical Laboratory Technology students for high-precision diagnostic work.
Develop a 360-degree immersive simulation room with wraparound projection and surround-sound that places students inside realistic, interactive environments for safe, hands-on, highly engaging learning and research.
Design large, flexible learning spaces that support hands-on training, collaboration, and future growth.
With your help, Assiniboine College is where care begins
The Manitoba government has called on Assiniboine College to deliver high-quality, hands-on, practical learning tied closely to labour market needs.
But we can’t do it alone.
The Province of Manitoba has committed $9 million to launching and operating the Medical Laboratory Technology and Combined Laboratory and X-Ray Technology programs. But the technical nature of this work requires a highly specific learning environment. We are calling on our community, people like you, to support the renovation of an existing campus space to provide the state-of-the-art training that replicates what graduates will see in practice.
Total cost to launch the CLXT and MLT programs:
$24 million
Government of Manitoba Contribution
$9 million
Assiniboine College Contribution
$10 million
Where Care Begins Campaign
$5 million
With your support, we can meet an ambitious timeline of welcoming students into these programs by fall of 2027. Together, public and private investment will help close urgent workforce gaps, strengthen rural healthcare services, and ensure that care across Manitoba begins with timely, accurate diagnosis.
Without enough diagnostic technologists, health care in Manitoba doesn’t slow down — it disappears.
Nearly 20% of Combined Laboratory & X-Ray Technologist (CLXT) positions are vacant province-wide and more positions are expected to be posted to meet both lab and imaging needs. These vacancies create gaps in essential diagnostic services, particularly in rural hospitals.
Vacancy rates for Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) have reached as high as 75% in some regions, placing routine and emergency laboratory services at risk.
Rural healthcare has deep roots in a time when diagnosis depended on hands-on judgment rather than laboratory tests or imaging. But today’s physicians depend on diagnostic services and will set up their practice in locations that have the wraparound supports they need to provide the best patient care. Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) and Combined Laboratory and X-Ray Technologists (CLXTs) play different but equally important roles on modern health care teams.
MLTs specialize in laboratory science — analyzing blood, body fluids, and tissue samples to detect disease, guide treatment, and monitor patient health. CLXTs are trained to do some of this same laboratory work and perform X-rays and electrocardiograms, allowing them to provide essential results. Together, these professionals ensure patients receive accurate diagnoses quickly, whether they are in large urban centres or small communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 70% of medical decisions depend on laboratory results.
A world-class learning environment in Brandon, thanks to you
Assiniboine College is the ideal home for the Medical Laboratory Technology and Combined Laboratory and X-Ray Technology programs, because of our expertise in training healthcare leaders, our relationships with communities across the province and because we have the ideal space to create a purpose-built education centre for these future professionals to learn within.
Our vision? A high-tech immersive room transports students beyond the textbook into an environment that can be endlessly reconfigured to replicate real-world scenarios using 360-degree projections and sounds.
At approximately 26,000 square feet, or roughly the size of two large school gymnasiums, Room 504 will be a defining feature of the Victoria Avenue East Campus in Brandon.
Your support will ensure that the space is ready in time for the programs’ first students in 2027 by creating spaces such as:
The Immersive Simulation Room
A high-tech immersive room transports students beyond the textbook into an environment that can be endlessly reconfigured to replicate real-world scenarios using 360-degree projections and sounds. The space allows students across different programs to work together, and problem solve in fast-paced settings that require teamwork, critical thinking, and action.
Combined Laboratory & X-Ray Spaces
Dedicated lab and imaging spaces will allow CLXT students to train in environments that closely reflect real clinical settings. Learners will work with the same types of equipment, layouts, and workflows found in hospitals and clinics. This hands-on experience builds confidence, strengthens technical skills, and ensures graduates are ready to step into the workforce and provide safe, accurate diagnostic care from day one.
Medical Laboratory Technology Spaces
Modern laboratory spaces will prepare MLT students for the high-precision diagnostic work that today’s healthcare depends on. These labs will support advanced testing techniques, quality control practices, and strict safety standards. By learning in up-to-date facilities, students develop strong attention to detail, accuracy, and professional discipline—skills that are essential for producing reliable test results that guide patient care.
Large Learning and Shared Collaboration Space
Large, modern, technology-rich learning spaces will support hands on training, group instruction, and collaboration across programs. These spaces can be reconfigured for different class sizes, technologies, and teaching approaches, allowing theory and practice to happen side by side. Designed to adapt over time, they will support new equipment, evolving healthcare practices, and future growth—protecting the long-term value of the investment.
Donor investment in the Where Care Begins campaign: $5 million
MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGIST (MLT)
What they do
- Work primarily in medical laboratories
- Analyze blood, body fluids, and tissue samples
- Run tests that detect infection, disease, organ function, and cancer markers
- Ensure test accuracy and quality control
- Provide results doctors rely on for diagnosis and treatment
Where they usually work
- Large hospitals
- Urban or regional diagnostic labs
- Specialized medical facilities
Their strength
- Deep expertise in laboratory science
- High-volume, highly specialized testing
COMBINED LABORATORY AND X-RAY TECHNOLOGIST (CLXT)
What they do
- Perform laboratory testing
- Take X-rays
- Conduct electrocardiograms (ECGs)
- Support diagnosis across multiple services
Where they usually work
- Rural and regional hospitals
- Smaller healthcare facilities
- Communities with limited staffing
Their strength
- Versatility
- Ability to cover multiple diagnostic needs in one role
The Medical Laboratory Technology and Combined Laboratory and X-Ray Technology programs at-a-glance
- Both are two-and-a-half-year diploma programs, with students receiving extensive work integrated learning experience throughout.
- The CLXT program at Assiniboine College will be the third program of its kind in Canada.
- Both programs will welcome their first cohort of 20 students in 2027, with a new cohort starting every second year thereafter.
- More than 700 people have signed up for an interest list for these programs.
Investing in the training of MLTs and CLXTs is one way to strengthen healthcare, particularly in rural Manitoba. Donor support helps ensure students train with modern equipment, gain real-world clinical experience, and are ready to step into high-demand roles where they are needed most. By supporting these programs, donors help keep care close to home, reduce delays in diagnosis, and improve health outcomes for communities across the province.