A child from the Gaza Strip seeking medical treatment arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday, with the help of the Manitoba government, and the provincial minister called on other provinces to follow suit.

An 11-year-old Palestinian boy and his mother were welcomed at the airport by Prime Minister Wab Kinew, who said the region was already preparing to welcome a second child in the coming weeks.

“We have always been the people who stand up during times of war and famine and natural disasters to help innocent people,” Kinew said.

Kinew did not name the 11-year-old or discuss his illness, citing privacy concerns. The young man, who traveled to Egypt with his family, has genetics that do not thrive in the area, Kinew said.

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The officer gave the boy a small Canadian flag at the airport and spoke to him through an interpreter.

“He misses some of his relatives whom he hasn’t seen for a year now, and he wants to study to be an engineer when he grows up,” said Kinew.

Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said children from Gaza have come to Canada for medical treatment, but this is the first time the provincial government has taken any action.

“We’ve had some districts where we’ve had people help us or hospitals say, ‘We’re going to help these people,’” Miller said. “It’s a lot easier when the prime minister stands up and says, ‘I’ll put my name behind it.’

“I think we can do more as a country.”

The child was identified with the help of Doctors Without Borders in Egypt and the federal government completed a legal review.

Non-profit groups in Manitoba have worked hard to provide housing for the boy and his mother, Kinew said, and the Manitoba Islamic Association and other groups have provided financial assistance, food and more.

Since the Israeli-Hamas war began in October 2023, children have been sent from Gaza to Qatar, various European countries and the US for medical treatment.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says there have been more than 110,000 casualties during the fighting. A third of the 46,000 people killed were children.

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