Sask. sees second highest rate of HIV in Canada, gov’t says more testing is critical for prevention

Dr Saqib Shahab, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, speaks to reporters about the HIV crisis in the province. (CTV News)

An overview of new HIV diagnoses in Canada shows Saskatchewan having the second highest rate across the country.

According to data released in April, Saskatchewan had the second highest rate of HIV in Canada in 2024 at 18.6 diagnosed cases per 100,000 people – over three times the national average of 5.5 cases.

Manitoba remains the highest at 19.5 diagnosed cases per 100,000 people.

In the last eight months, the Government of Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer said the province has seen new cases of HIV developing.

“We’ve been doing a lot of testing where there have been new cases emerging and we’ve found many HIV cases,” Dr. Saqib Shahab told reporters at the Legislature on May 13.

“[It’s] important because when we look at the principle of HIV control 95-95-95, we want to make sure everyone who has HIV is able to get tested.”

People getting tested more frequently is one of the ways of prevention, Shahab added.

“We have to make sure that we don’t stigmatize individuals because of their lifestyles or risk factors, but make it easy for people to seek testing in a non-judgemental way,” he said, referring to people who have more partners are more at risk.

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“... People are more sexually active, have more partners when they are young, but in any age you can’t take it for granted that you are not at risk. It’s important for every age group.”

People who are diagnosed with the infection are required to take medication for the rest of their life.

Although Shahab said the effective treatments are easily accessible, prevention is still critical.

“Once you get over the initial shock of being told you have HIV, once you’re on treatment, you feel healthy. You can do everything anyone without HIV can. It’s just one other chronic disease that you have to manage for the rest of your life,” he explained.

“… But again, prevention is really important and I think that message really has to be there, not just for young people, not just in school and universities, but through all stages of life because many people now develop relationships again when they’re older, midlife or even older.”

People are able to get tested for the HIV or any sexually transmitted infection (STI) through their primary health care provider, an STD clinic, accessing outreach services, as well as home testing kits.

A list of services is also available on the provincial government’s website.

With files from Caitlin Brezinski