Manitoba Health Care Directive Form: Where to Get It and How to Complete It

Where to Find Manitoba's Health Care Directive Form

Manitoba's government provides a standard Health Care Directive template through the provincial health website at gov.mb.ca/health/livingwill.html. The form is free to download, and there's no charge to complete or file it.

But here's what catches most people: Manitoba doesn't require you to use the government form. Under The Health Care Directives Act (C.C.S.M. c. H27), any written document that's signed and dated qualifies as a legally valid Health Care Directive — whether it's the official template, a lawyer-drafted document, or even a handwritten letter. The government form is a convenience, not a legal requirement.

That flexibility is deliberate. Manitoba designed its Health Care Directive framework to remove barriers — no mandatory form, no mandatory lawyer, no mandatory notarization, no fees. The trade-off is that the simplicity of the government template can leave important gaps if you don't know what questions to address.

What the Government Template Covers (and Doesn't)

The standard Manitoba form covers the basics:

• Proxy appointment — naming one or more people to make medical decisions on your behalf
• General treatment preferences — broad statements about whether you want life-sustaining treatment
• Signature and date — the minimum legal requirements for validity

What the template typically doesn't address in sufficient detail:

• Specific clinical scenarios — CPR preferences, mechanical ventilation limits, tube feeding decisions, dialysis, antibiotics for terminal infections
• Goals of Care alignment — Manitoba's health regions use a three-level clinical framework (Level C for comfort, Level M for medical treatment, Level R for full resuscitation), and your directive should reference these directly so the clinical team can translate your preferences into active orders
• Consecutive vs. joint proxy logic — if you name more than one proxy, the form may not clearly prompt you to specify how they share authority (Manitoba defaults to consecutive if you don't state otherwise)
• Organ donation coordination — connecting your directive preferences with your Sign Up for Life registration

How to Complete the Form Step by Step

Whether you use the government template or a more detailed version, the process is the same:

Step 1: Confirm your eligibility. You must be at least 16 years old (Manitoba's minimum — the youngest in Canada) and mentally capable of understanding the nature of medical treatment decisions and their consequences.

Step 2: Choose your proxy (or proxies). Each proxy must be at least 18, mentally competent, and willing to serve. If you're naming more than one, decide whether they act consecutively (one at a time, in order) or jointly (all must agree). Write this explicitly in the document — don't rely on the legal default.

Step 3: Document your treatment preferences. Move past vague language like "no heroic measures" (which clinicians routinely set aside as unactionable) and address specific interventions:

• Under what circumstances do you want CPR attempted?
• Would you accept mechanical ventilation? For how long?
• Do you want artificial nutrition (tube feeding) if you permanently cannot eat?
• What is your position on palliative sedation for intractable pain?
• How do your wishes change depending on your prognosis — are your preferences different for a reversible condition vs. a terminal diagnosis?

Step 4: Sign and date the document. If you sign it yourself, no witness is needed. If you're physically unable to sign and someone else signs on your behalf (at your direction, in your presence), that substitute signing requires one adult witness who is not your named proxy or their spouse.

Step 5: Distribute copies. Your directive is useless in a crisis if no one can find it. Provide copies to:

• Your named proxy (or proxies)
• Your family physician or clinic
• Your local hospital registry (WRHA in Winnipeg scans directives into the electronic patient record)
• The ERIK (Emergency Response Information Kit) on your refrigerator, if you have one set up

Step 6: Store the original somewhere accessible. Never in a safe deposit box — these can't be opened during a medical emergency. A fireproof home safe, a clearly labeled file in your home, or a copy with your proxy all work.

Common Mistakes That Invalidate or Weaken a Directive

Using vague language. "I don't want to be kept alive on machines" sounds clear to you but means nothing precise to an emergency physician. Specify which machines, under what circumstances, and for how long.

Forgetting to update after major life changes. A directive naming your spouse as proxy is automatically revoked on divorce unless the directive expressly says otherwise. Creating a new directive with explicit revocation language ("I revoke all previous Health Care Directives") is the safest approach.

Only completing the healthcare directive without an Enduring Power of Attorney. The Health Care Directive covers medical decisions only. Financial decisions — paying your mortgage, managing your investments, selling property — require a separate Enduring Power of Attorney under The Powers of Attorney Act. Without one, your family faces a court-ordered committeeship costing $3,000 to $5,000.

Not telling anyone. A significant percentage of Health Care Directives are never activated because no one in the clinical team knows the document exists. Registration with your physician and hospital is as important as creating the document in the first place.

Beyond the Basic Form

The free government template is a starting point. For a more thorough document that addresses clinical scenarios in the language Manitoba's healthcare providers actually use, the Manitoba Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a detailed Health Care Directive worksheet, an Enduring Power of Attorney setup guide with the correct statutory "enduring clause" language, a Goals of Care reference mapping your preferences to the C/M/R framework, and an ERIK setup checklist for paramedic access during home emergencies.

See more Manitoba guides →