University of Manitoba's faculty of medicine confirmed 52 of this year's 91 medical graduates plan to finish their postgraduate training in Manitoba -- up from 38 graduates in 2008.

Last year, the majority of the province's medical graduates left Manitoba, including 13 students who wanted to stay and train but didn't get residency positions. The situation sparked ire from critics who said the university was handing training spots over to international medical graduates who are more likely to leave Manitoba.

"It just doesn't make sense why don't we train enough of our own people to make up our needs instead of grabbing doctors from elsewhere in the world," he said. "We need half of our graduates to become family doctors and the majority of them aren't. A lot of them are pursuing specialties and a lot of them are leaving the province."