Daycare For Immigrants in Manitoba

Many daycares in Manitoba are full to capacity and finding a daycare with an available spot for your child can take months.

Therefore, we strongly recommend adding your child to daycare waitlists at least 6 months before you arrive in Manitoba.

If you’re looking for daycare openings in Winnipeg, we recommend using Dianna.

Dianna is an online tool that shows you daycares with short waitlists.

We do not promise that Dianna will help you find a vacancy or daycare opening for your infant, toddler, preschool, or school age child.

However, using Dianna will likely increase your chances of finding a daycare opening as soon as possible.

If you’re looking for a list of licensed and funded daycare providers in Manitoba, visit the government directory.

Daycare is not free for immigrants, permanent residents, or Canadian citizens in Manitoba.

Immigrants in Manitoba pay the same daycare prices as permanent residents and Canadian citizens. Daycare prices do not decrease when you attain permanent residence or citizenship status.

However, you may be eligible for a child care subsidy once you become a permanent resident or Canadian citizen.

Daycare rates for infants, toddlers, and preschool children that attend funded daycares in Manitoba are as follows:

• $10 per day if your child is enrolled full time and attends daycare for 4 to 10 hours per day.
• $15 per day if your child is enrolled full time and attends daycare for more than 10 hours per day.
• $5 per day if your child attends daycare for less than 4 hours per day.

For school age children enrolled in a funded daycare facility, daycare rates are:

• $6.15 per day for 1 period of attendance.
• $8.60 per day for 2 periods of attendance.
• $10 per day for 3 periods of attendance.

A period of attendance for school age children means either before school, after school, or lunch break daycare enrollment.

Use this daycare cost calculator to estimate what your daycare rates would be in a Manitoba daycare.

Nationality and immigrant status do not affect eligibility for $10 a day daycare.

All infants, toddlers, and preschool children that are enrolled full time in a funded daycare in Manitoba and attend daycare for 4 to 10 hours per day are eligible for $10 a day daycare.

All school age children that are enrolled in a funded daycare for 3 periods a day are eligible for $10 a day daycare rates on regular school days.

Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible for a child care subsidy in Manitoba

Please note that a child care subsidy in Manitoba is not the same thing as government subsidized child care or $10/day daycare.

1. A child care subsidy is financial assistance provided by the provincial government to help lower income families specifically to pay for licensed daycare in Manitoba.
2. Government-subsidized child care is financial support provided to make child care more affordable for all families in Manitoba and to help daycare providers to meet the costs of operating licensed daycares.

As an immigrant, you may be eligible for government-subsidized child care such as $10/day daycare. However, you are not eligible for a child care subsidy until you become a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen.

English and French are official languages in Manitoba. However, English is the most common language spoken in Manitoba.

According to the 2021 Population Census, English is the mother tongue of 70.5% of Manitoba residents.

Online searches are a relatively reliable way to find French or English speaking daycares since French and English are official languages.

However, online searches do not work as well for finding daycares that speak non-official languages such as Punjabi, Spanish, Swahili, Mandarin, etc.

Recommendations from friends and family are the best way to find a daycare that speaks your child’s native language.

Recommendations from friends and family are the best way to find a daycare that aligns with your religion.

According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 54.2% of Manitoba residents are Christian
• 36.7% of Manitoba residents have no religion
• 2% of Manitoba residents are Muslim
• 1.4% of Manitoba residents Hindu

Although Christianity is the dominant religion, immigrants in Manitoba come from a variety of religious backgrounds. According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 62.5% of immigrants in Manitoba are Christian
• 15.1% of immigrants in Manitoba have no religion
• 6.5% of immigrants in Manitoba are Muslim
• 4.5% of immigrants in Manitoba are Hindu
• 7.9% of immigrants in Manitoba are Sikh
• 1.7% of immigrants in Manitoba are Buddhist
• 1.2% of immigrants in Manitoba are Jewish

Searching online for a daycare in Manitoba that aligns with your religion can be difficult.

It is often difficult to tell whether or not a daycare has a specific religious affiliation based on the daycare name alone.

For example, a Christian daycare may be called “Happy Feet Daycare”.

However, you wouldn’t be able to tell that the above daycare is a Christian daycare based on it’s name.

Therefore, recommendations from friends and family are the best way to find a child care provider that aligns with your religion.

Winnipeg has the largest immigrant population in Manitoba.

According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 25.4% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Winnipeg
• 25.3% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Winkler
• 21.3% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Steinbach
• 17.4% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Brandon
• 13.4% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Thompson
• 9.2% of immigrants in Manitoba live in Portage la Prairie

Immigrants in Manitoba often form communities based on country of origin.

These communities enable immigrants from the same country of origin to:

• Network and meet people from the same country of origin
• Practice speaking their native language or mother tongue
• Organize social gatherings and build relationships
• Celebrate cultural occasions
• Stay connected to your ancestral and cultural roots
• Receive help and advice regarding starting and building a life in Canada
• Send and receive items to and from their country of origin

Involving your child in social gatherings with members of your community from your native country is one of the best ways of ensuring that your child stays connected to their culture.

According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 56.1% of immigrants in Manitoba come from Asia. Philippines, India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, and South Korea are the most common countries of origin for Asian immigrants living in Manitoba.
• 20.6% of immigrants in Manitoba come from Europe. United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, and Portugal and Russian Federation are the most common countries of origin for European immigrants living in Manitoba.
• 12.4% of immigrants in Manitoba come from the Americas. United States of America, Mexico, El Salvador, Jamaica and Brazil are the most common countries of origin for immigrants from the Americas.
• 10.5% of immigrants in Manitoba come from Africa. Nigeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa are the most common countries of origin for African immigrants living in Manitoba.