Maggie Macintosh
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Public Insurance’s Driver Z program is expanding in rural communities this fall, but demand among aspiring motorists continues to outpace availability in the province.
Flin Flon residents were informed late last month that MPI was temporarily applying the brakes to its entry-level driver’s education course.
Maelynn Tetlock, who recently made it to the 15-1/2-year-old threshold required to take the program’s knowledge test, described the development as “upsetting.”
“I’m very excited to be able to drive,” the soon-to-be-11th-grader said. “It’s a lot of freedom to be able to drive yourself anywhere and if you have a job, (it’s way more convenient).”
The teenager currently relies on her parents to get around, and said she’s long been looking forward to getting her learner’s permit — an especially important rite of passage in a rural area — so she can get behind the wheel.
The 12-week Driver Z program (pronounced “driver’s ed”), includes virtual, in-person and in-car lessons.
Participants must score 80 per cent or higher on all assignments and complete an in-car readiness test, among other requirements, to earn a certificate.
It was scheduled to be offered in Flin Flon in September before the assigned instructor backed out.
An error mistakenly listing nearby Cranberry Portage as an option — the community is without a qualified instructor — also affected interested high school students.
MPI spokeswoman Tara Seel said eight registrants were contacted directly and referred to alternate locations.
“MPI is working to make Driver Z more available in rural Manitoba. We’ve raised pay for rural driving instructors by 30 per cent, and currently have 14 new driving-instructor candidates in training,” Seel said in an email.
Rural drivers now earn $61.43 per hour for their in-car teaching services.
Seel said recruitment efforts are paying off, as evidenced by the addition of nearly a third more courses in rural regions this fall compared to 2024.
Course offerings have doubled in Brandon, she noted.
As of Aug. 1, there were 309 seats open across rural Manitoba and 517 seats in Winnipeg.
Sixteen-year-old Blake Shirran said she would’ve had her full licence by now if there hadn’t been Driver Z disruptions last year.
She enrolled in University College of the North’s Class 5 adult driver training program when her Flin Flon-area intake was cancelled in 2024.
“If you have a late birthday, it’s the worst thing ever for driving,” she said, adding that cruising around town is a popular hobby among high schoolers.
Many of her peers with earlier birthdays scored seats through the Crown insurer’s program last year before it was interrupted, she noted.
Maelynn echoed those comments; while some of her friends were able to participate in Driver Z’s spring class, she wasn’t quite old enough yet.
MPI is planning to open additional intakes in both rural and urban areas in time for the fall term, Seel said. She said schools will be alerted about changes and relay information accordingly.
Driver Z continues to recruit instructors in communities all over the province, ranging from McCreary to Morris.
The instructor shortage — which is not a new phenomenon — led to much disappointment for dozens of young people who were hoping to enrol in the spring for MPI’s new shortened summer course.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
