More than 200,000 have applied for Manitoba's new plastic health card
Cards should arrive in the mail in the coming days, province says
The shift from paper to plastic is apparently very popular in Manitoba.
More than 200,000 Manitobans have applied for the province's new colourful plastic health card, which features an image of the northern lights, to replace the paper ones prone to wear and tear.
Requests for the new cards, which are produced in Canada by a Canadian company, began Jan. 15.
There are online, mail-in and in-person options for those without internet access.
The cards should show up in mailboxes in the coming days, a provincial spokesperson said in an email.
A digital health card will also be available later this year, the spokesperson said.
The government previously said it decided to ask Manitobans to apply for the card, rather than simply mailing them out en mass, because many people will have old addresses on file.
Manitobans are not required to have the new card, but when an old one needs replacing, people will get the plastic update.
Anyone applying for their first health card will automatically receive the plastic version.
Manitoba and Alberta are the last provinces and territories in Canada to still use paper health cards.