Dr. Jay Toor is one of the surgeons helping bring new spine surgery techniques to patients in Manitoba. He works at Concordia Hospital and the Health Sciences Centre, where he cares for people with serious back and spine problems.
Dr. Toor is excited about the new technology because it allows surgeons to do safer, more precise operations with smaller cuts. This helps patients feel less pain and recover faster so they can return to their normal lives sooner.
He also plays an important role in teaching other surgeons. Doctors from across Canada and around the world come to Winnipeg to learn these advanced skills, helping spread better spine care to even more people.
He arrived in Winnipeg in 2023 and started running spreadsheets.
At once, he realized that if the province invested in new, minimally invasive technology for spine surgeries, it could reduce waiting times and dramatically lower costs. He started cold-calling Uzoma Asagwara, the Minister of Health, asking for a meeting. He arrived at her office with sheafs of paper, showing that the province could buy the new equipment, shorten waiting times and save millions of dollars a year. A couple of weeks later, Asagwara announced a new provincial spine program, complete with funding for the new equipment. No other Canadian system has such advanced equipment, Dr. Toor says, adding that surgeons fly to Winnipeg to watch him operate, hoping their hospitals will adopt the technology. He credits the minister and her government for being “super responsive.”
It’s not just the government that’s willing to listen. He says Manitobans are simply more down to earth than the people he grew up with in Toronto. “There’s a different personality of people here. There’s less ego. People think if something makes sense, it makes sense.”
Concordia, in particular, has a special place in his heart. “The staff here have a very unusual degree of commitment to patients to deliver care. This is a very unique place, and I know I can expand it and make it even better.”
Announcement: Manitoba Expands Advanced Spine Surgery at Concordia Hospital
Spine Centre of Excellence
On March 13, 2026 The Government of Manitoba announced a $2.7-million investment in advanced surgical technology at Concordia Hospital, helping patients receive spine surgery sooner and recover more quickly.
Using new 3-D imaging and precision guidance, surgeons can now perform minimally invasive spine procedures that often allow patients to return home the same day or the next day. This expansion increases surgical capacity across the province and helps reduce wait times by enabling more moderately complex procedures to be completed at Concordia, while freeing operating room resources at Health Sciences Centre for the most complex cases.
Since the first navigated spine surgery at Concordia in June 2025, more than 40 procedures have been completed, with a goal of approximately 75 surgeries each year. The hospital is now recognized as a spine centre of excellence and serves as a national teaching site, attracting surgeons from across Canada and internationally for specialized training.
Health leaders note that the investment will improve patient outcomes, strengthen Manitoba’s surgical system, and enhance coordinated care through the provincial spine program and the Manitoba Spine Clinic. For patients, the impact is significant — faster access to care, shorter hospital stays, and a quicker return to everyday activities and quality of life.