This post is a detailed guide to finding a daycare in Winnipeg.
In this post, I’ll provide answers to frequently asked questions about Winnipeg daycares.
I’ll also explain the different types of child care available and show you how to find a daycare in Winnipeg.
Let’s jump right in.
Frequently asked questions about daycares in Winnipeg
How to find daycare openings in Winnipeg
If you’re looking for daycare openings in Winnipeg, we recommend using Dianna.
Dianna is an online tool that shows you nearby daycares with short waitlists.
Dianna saves you from having to make lots of phone calls to find daycares in Winnipeg with the shortest 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.
How many children can you have in a daycare in Winnipeg?
A licensed home daycare in Winnipeg can have a maximum of either 8 or 12 children under the age of 12. This depends on the specific classification that the daycare has as a licensed home daycare.
4 children under the age of 12 is the maximum number of children that an unlicensed home daycare can care for.
There is no official maximum number of children that a daycare center can care for. The maximum number of children that each center can care for varies based on square footage of the daycare center among other factors.
Are daycares in Winnipeg good?
According to a 2023 study, the city of Winnipeg has an average daycare rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars and only 3% of daycares have a 1 star average rating.
When do daycares in Winnipeg open and close?
Most daycares in Winnipeg are open from 7:00 a.m to 5:30 p.m from Monday to Friday. Very few daycares offer 24 hour care, overnight care, or daycare on weekends.
What to pack for daycare in Winnipeg
Read our guide on what to pack for daycare for parents in Winnipeg.
The guide also includes a free downloadble daycare packing PDF checklist.
What is the best daycare in Winnipeg?
To find the best daycare in Winnipeg, I compiled a list of daycare providers in Winnipeg for the following categories:
- Bilingual French and English daycares
- Montessori daycares
- 24 hour daycares
- Daycares that offer extended hour care
- Daycares that specialize in caring for children with special needs
I then ranked the daycares in each category based on the following factors to determine the best daycares:
- The daycare environment
- Parent reviews
- The daycare program
I only used publicly available information when determining which daycares are the best in each category.
No in-person visits to any of the daycares or interviews with parents or daycare providers were conducted.
Disclaimer: This list is neither an endorsement nor recommendation of any listed daycare. The daycares below are listed based on subjective evaluation.
Top rated bilingual daycares in Winnipeg
Finding a French speaking daycare in Winnipeg that accepts infants and toddlers can be challenging.
Many French speaking daycares only accept preschool and older children.
Below are the best bilingual French and English daycares in Winnipeg at the time of writing this post.
For this list, I only considered daycares that accept 18 month old or younger children. I did not consider French daycares that only accept preschool and older children.
The Francophone daycares that provide the best French and English immersion environment according to publicly available information are:
- Saint-Boniface Garderie de Bambins Inc (Children must be 18+ months)
- Les Petits Génies
The best Montessori daycares in Winnipeg
Montessori accreditation in Winnipeg is more common with preschools and elementary schools and less common with daycares.
This is generally because the Montessori method provides little practical benefit to infants and young toddlers.
Therefore, some Montessori daycares incorporate additional philosophies of education into their daycare program on account of the younger age groups that they accept.
However, the absence of accreditation doesn’t necessarily mean that a Montessori daycare doesn’t provide an authentic Montessori experience.
Below are the best Montessori daycares and preschools in Winnipeg according to publicly available information at the time of writing this post.
- Richmond Montessori School (Children must be 2+ years)
- Nova Montessori Preschool (Children must be 2+ years)
- Mighty Minds Montessori & Child Care Inc. (Children must be 2+ years)
- River East Montessori School (Children must be 2+ years)
- Casa Montessori & Orff School Inc (Children must be 3+ months)
- Paradise Montessori Preschool (Children must be 2+ years)
- The Prep Montessori Daycare (Accepts children as young as infants)
No guarantees are provided that the daycares listed above are accredited or that the minimum age group information shown is still accurate.
Top rated 24 hour daycares in Winnipeg
At the time of writing this post, I could only find 3 daycares that offer 24 hour care in Winnipeg.
Of the 3 daycares that I could find, Angel’s 24-Hour Childcare Home came most highly recommended.
However, given that the daycare’s Facebook page contains multiple pictures of pets, Angel’s 24-Hour Childcare Home may not be suitable if your child has a pet allergy.
Best daycares for special needs children in Winnipeg
“Special needs” is a broad term that encompasses many different conditions.
However, throughout my research for this post, I was unable to find any daycares in Winnipeg that specifically excel at providing special needs care.
Top rated extended hour daycares in Winnipeg
Extended hour daycares in Winnipeg provide child care on weekends or remain open on week days after regular work hours but without operating 24 hours a day.
Discovery Children’s Centre came highly recommended for providing extended hour daycare in Winnipeg at the time of writing this post.
Child care in Winnipeg
Winnipeg has a special place when it comes to the history of child care in Manitoba. The first daycare in the province was opened in Winnipeg in the early 1900’s.
As of June 2023, Winnipeg has over 1,100 licensed daycares.
There are two types of daycares in Winnipeg:
- Licensed daycares
- Unlicensed daycares
Unlicensed daycare in Winnipeg
Unlicensed daycare providers are legal in Winnipeg can care for a maximum of 4 children under the age of 12.
The provincial government does not monitor unlicensed daycares.
Additionally, unlicensed daycare are not required to maintain the same set of child care standards as licensed daycares.
However, they are still required to maintain proper child to staff ratios as well as a safe environment for enrolled children.
Daycare programs in Winnipeg
The majority of daycares in Winnipeg are play-based. Play-based daycare is a form of structured childcare characterised by free play and planned daycare activities.
However, not all play-based daycares are alike. Different play-based daycares may have specific areas of focus.
For example, some play-based daycares, such as francophone daycares, focus on bilingual vocabulary building. While play-based daycares, such as Christian daycares, incorporate elements of faith and religion into daycare activities.
Although the majority of daycares in Winnipeg are play-based, there are also non play-based daycares such as Montessori daycares.
Licensed daycare in Winnipeg
Licensed daycares in Winnipeg are regulated through the Community Child Care Standards Act and monitored by the provincial government.
The Act outlines minimum health, safety, and operations standards for licensed daycares and was introduced in 1983.
The provincial government also provides financial support to licensed daycares through a variety grants.
Funded vs unfunded licensed daycares
Licensed daycares in Winnipeg are categorized as either funded facilities or unfunded facilities. Funded facilities are licensed daycares that receive annual operating grants from the government.
The government sets fixed prices for funded facilities. Meaning, all funded facilities in Winnipeg charge the same prices for daycare attendance.
Unfunded facilities are licensed daycares that either choose not to receive, or are not eligible to receive annual operating grants.
Choosing not to receive operating grants gives unfunded daycares more control over their prices and potentially lowers administrative costs.
How much does licensed daycare cost in Winnipeg?
Daycare rates for infants, toddlers, and preschool children that attend funded daycare facilities 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.
Periods of attendance for school age children means either before school, after school, or lunch break daycare enrollment.
Daycare prices for unfunded licensed daycares vary based on the daycare provider. The median full-time monthly daycare fees for unfunded daycares in Winnipeg are listed below as reported in a 2020 survey. However, these figures are based on a 2020 study and may not be as relevant today.
- $1,700 per infant
- $1,181 per toddler
- $933 per preschool child
Read: 20 questions to ask daycare providers about their daycare prices
How much did licensed daycare cost before $10 a day daycare?
Before $10 a day daycare, the cost of licensed daycare in funded facilities was as follows.
Daycare cost for infants:
- $30 per day for full time enrollment at 4 to 10 hours of daycare attendance per day.
- $45 per day for full time enrollment and more than 10 hours of daycare attendance per day.
- $15 per day for less than 4 hours of daycare attendance per day.
Prices for toddlers and preschool children:
- $20.80 per day for full time enrollment at 4 to 10 hours of daycare attendance per day.
- $31.20 per day for full time enrollment and more than 10 hours of daycare attendance per day.
- $10.40 per day for less than 4 hours of daycare attendance per day.
Daycare rates for school age children:
- $6.15 per day for 1 period of attendance.
- $8.60 per day for 2 periods of attendance.
- $10.30 per day for 3 periods of attendance.
Periods of attendance for school age children means either before school, after school, or lunch break daycare enrollment.
A 2020 survey prior to $10 daycare revealed the median full-time monthly daycare fees for unfunded daycares in Winnipeg to be:
- $1,700 per infant
- $1,181 per toddler
- $933 per preschool child
Where can I find a list of licensed daycares in Winnipeg?
If you’re looking for daycare openings in Winnipeg, we recommend using Dianna.
Dianna is an online tool that shows you Saskatoon daycares with short waitlists near you.
However, if you’re looking for a list of all licensed daycares in Winnipeg, the provincial government provides an interactive directory of licensed child care providers that you can use to find a licensed daycare near you.
Enter your address or postal code and search the government website for a list of licensed daycares near you.
You can restrict your search to only show you daycares near you that are:
- 24 hour daycares
- Provide care to infants, toddlers, or preschool children
- Open overnight and on weekends
- French seapking
- Funded home daycares
- Etc
Specialty licensed daycares in Winnipeg
Winnipeg has over 20 licensed bilingual French and English speaking daycares. However, there are very few 24 hour daycares, after hours daycares, and daycares that operate on weekends.
As of June 2023, 2 licensed daycares offer 24 hour daycare in Winnipeg. Although the government directory lists multiple 24 hour daycares, only 2 seem to actually operate 24 hours a day as of June 2023.
Winnipeg parent and daycare provider online groups
Facebook groups and other online forums can be a great place to find daycare openings and solicit child care advice.
Below are links to online communities that you might find useful as a parent searching for child care in Winnipeg.
- Winnipeg Daycares
- Winnipeg Childcare
- POWSA Village (Parents of Winnipeg & Surrounding Areas)
- Parents of Winnipeg
Financial assistance for child care in Winnipeg
The provincial government provides several programs that help ensure that all parents can afford child care in Winnipeg.
Some of these programs include:
- Child care subsidies
- Government-subsidized child care
A child care subsidy is financial assistance provided by the provincial government to help lower income families to pay for licensed daycare in Manitoba.
Government-subsidized child care is financial support provided to daycare providers to assist in meeting the costs of operating licensed daycare facilities.
Receiving financial support through various government grants enables licensed daycare providers to charge parents less fees.
Examples of government-subsidized child care include $10 a day daycare in funded facilities across the province.