$10 A Day Daycare In Saskatchewan – Frequently Asked Questions

The goal of $10 a day daycare in Saskatchewan is to make child care more affordable for Saskatchewan families.

For each child under the age of six years that you enroll in a participating licensed daycare in Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Education will pay a portion of that child’s daycare fees directly to your daycare provider.

As a parent, you only pay:

• $217.50 per month if your child attends daycare for at least 10 days per month.
• $10 per day if your child attends daycare for less than 10 days per month.

For example, let’s assume that a licensed daycare provider charged $900 for full time infant enrollment before the introduction of $10 a day daycare. Under $10 a day daycare, you would only pay $217.50 per month to enroll your infant in this daycare. The government would pay the remaining $682.50 directly to your daycare provider.

There are no part-time, weekly, or hourly enrollment fees under $10 a day daycare. Your child can only be enrolled on a full time basis or daily basis depending on whether or not they attend daycare for at least 10 days per month.

Infants, toddlers, preschool, and school age children below the age of 6 years all pay the same rate under $10 a day daycare.

For example, let’s assume you have both a 1 year old and a 4 year old enrolled in a participating licensed daycare. If both children attend daycare for at least 10 days per month, then you would pay $217.50 for each child for a total of $435 per month.

However, your daycare provider may still charge other fees such as one-time registration fees.

A November 2021 report released by the Ministry of Education Early Years Branch revealed the average cost of full time daycare prior to $10 a day daycare in Saskatchewan daycare centers to be:

• $790 per infant
• $666 per toddler
• $612 per preschool child

The same report revealed the average cost of full time daycare in licensed home daycares in Saskatchewan before $10 a day daycare to be:

• $786 per infant
• $735 per toddler
• $667 per preschool child

To get an estimate for what Saskatchewan residents pay for daycare now vs what they paid before $10 a day daycare, use our daycare cost calculator.

$10 a day daycare began as one of the goals of the Early Learning and Child Care agreement between the Federal Government of Canada and the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan.

In August 2021, the Federal Government of Canada and the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan announced a multi-year plan to lower the average cost of child care down to $10 per day by 2026.

Through retroactive reimbursements issued in February 2022 and April 2022 for child care costs incurred between July 2021 to January 2022, the cost of child care in Saskatchewan was lowered by about 50% for children below the age of six years enrolled in participating licensed daycares.

In August 2022, the government announced a 70% reduction in child care costs for children below the age of six years enrolled in participating licensed daycares effective September 2022.

On March 6, 2023, the Government of Saskatchewan announced that the cost of licensed daycare in participating Saskatchewan daycares had been successfully reduced to $10 a day.

No, not all licensed daycares in Saskatchewan provide $10 a day daycare. Only licensed daycares that choose to participate in the $10 a day program provide $10 a day daycare.

Always ask daycare providers what fees they charge directly. Do not rely on online information about a daycare alone since it may be out of date.

If you’re looking for a daycare in Saskatoon or Regina, we recommend using Dianna.

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

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.

There are several reasons why some licensed daycares do not participate in the $10 a day program.

1. The government places restrictions on how participating licensed daycares can structure their fees. For example, there are no part time, weekly, or hourly fees under $10 a day daycare. Therefore, some daycare providers choose not to participate in order to retain their flexibility regarding how they structure their daycare prices.
2. Some daycare providers face reduced earnings under $10 a day daycare and therefore choose not to participate.
3. Participating in $10 a day daycare adds additional administrative duties to daycare providers. Some daycare providers are unwilling to take on the additional administrative tasks and choose not to participate.

No, unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan do not provide $10 a day daycare. $10 a day daycare is a form of subsidized child care. (Side note: subsidized child care does not mean a child care subsidy.)

Meaning, the government pays for a portion of parents’ daycare costs by providing funding directly to daycare providers. However, unlicensed daycares are not eligible to receive government funding under the $10 a day program. Therefore, unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan do not provide $10 a day daycare.

Only children below the age of six years old that are enrolled in a participating licensed daycare are eligible for $10 a day daycare. The daycare can either be a licensed home daycare or a daycare center.

As a parent, you do not have to submit any application forms in order to access the benefits of $10 a day daycare. Your daycare provider will take care of that for you.

All you have to do is have a child under the age of six years old that is enrolled in a participating licensed daycare. If your child is six years old or older, then that child is not eligible for $10 a day daycare.

For example, let’s assume you enroll both a 2 year old and a 6 year old in a participating licensed daycare. In this case, you would pay the reduced daycare fees offered under the $10 a day program for the 2 year old but not the 6 year old.

Once your child turns six years old, the government will no longer pay a portion of your child’s daycare fees under the $10 a day program. That means you will have to pay the full, unsubsidized daycare rate in order to maintain your child’s daycare enrollment.

No, your gross monthly household income is not a factor that determines whether or not you are eligible for $10 a day daycare. Every child below the age of six years that is enrolled in a participating licensed daycare is eligible for $10 a day daycare irrespective of their household’s income.

Your status as an immigrant or permanent resident does not affect your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.

Every child under the age of six years old that is enrolled in a participating licensed daycare is automatically eligible for $10 a day daycare. Neither the nationality nor immigrant status of you or your child is a factor that determines your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.

$10 a day daycare is a form of subsidized child care. However, it is not the same thing as a child care subsidy. Below are the differences between $10 a day daycare and a child care subsidy:

• Only children below the age of six years are eligible for $10 a day daycare. In contrast, children up to the age of twelve years may be eligible for a child care subsidy.
• Your gross monthly household income is a factor that determines your eligibility for a child care subsidy. However, monthly household income is not a factor in determining your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.
• Only Canadian citizens or permanent residents are eligible for a child care subsidy. On the other hand, neither citizenship nor permanent resident status affect eligibility for $10 a day daycare.
• All licensed daycares in Saskatchewan accept daycare payments through child care subsidies. However, not all licensed daycares provide $10 a day daycare.

To get an estimate of the child care subsidy amount that you may be eligible to receive, use our child care subsidy calculator.