Understanding Child Care in Saskatchewan

This is a detailed guide to understanding how child care works in Saskatchewan.

In this post, I’ll explain the difference between licensed and unlicensed child care in Saskatchewan.

I’ll also discuss child care subsidies, how much daycare costs, and how $10 a day daycare works in Saskatchewan.

Let’s jump right in.

Frequently asked questions about child care in Saskatchewan

How to find daycare openings in Saskatchewan

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

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

Dianna saves you from having to make lots of phone calls to find daycares 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 long are daycare waitlists in Saskatchewan?

According to a 2023 study, daycares in Saskatchewan have a median of 18 children on a daycare waitlist.

How much does licensed daycare cost in Saskatchewan?

If your child attends a licensed daycare that participates in the $10 a day daycare program:

• Licensed daycare in Saskatchewan costs $217.50 per month for children below six years of age that attend daycare for at least 10 days per month.
• Licensed daycare in Saskatchewan costs $10 per day for children below six years of age that attend daycare for fewer than 10 days per month.

Although most licensed daycares participate in the $10 a day daycare program, not all licensed daycare providers participate in this program.

Therefore, always confirm whether or not a particular licensed daycare provider participates in the $10 a day program by asking them directly.

How much did licensed daycare in Saskatchewan cost before $10 a day daycare?

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

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

The average cost of full time daycare in licensed home daycares in Saskatchewan before the roll out of the $10 a day daycare initiative was:

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

How to start a licensed home daycare in Saskatchewan

Starting a licensed home daycare in Saskatchewan costs about $5,000 to $7,000.

However, not all home daycare startup costs must be met upfront.

Some of the costs that you will incur when starting a new home daycare business include:

• Mortgage payments or rent and lease costs
• Remodelling and property modification costs
• Licensing and inspection costs
• Software and technology costs
• Legal fees
• Equipment and supplies costs
• Etc.

Selecting the right home for your home daycare business is one of the first decisions that you’ll make after choosing to start your own home daycare.

Unsuitable residential properties in which to run a home daycare typically include:

• Apartments
• Condos
• Mobile homes

Managing a home daycare business is very different from simply “caring for children”.

As a home daycare owner, you’ll be responsible for filing your taxes, bookkeeping, payroll, marketing, advertising, hiring, employee training, legal documentation, property maintenance, child care compliance, etc.

You will also be held fully accountable for the injuries, accidents, or incidents that occur to any enrolled children while they are in your care.

What age is an infant, toddler, or preschool child in Saskatchewan?

Child age groups in Saskatchewan are classified as follows:

• An infant is a 0 to 17 month old child
• A toddler is a 18 to 29 month old child
• A preschool child is a 30 month old or older child who does not attend elementary school. In general, preschool age in Saskatchewan is 30 to 71 months old.
• Kindergarten age in Saskatchewan is 5 years old (60 to 71 months). Although the Child Care Act 2015 defines kindergarten age as 30+ months; kindergarten programs in Saskatchewan often require children to be at least 5 years old.

What is the difference between kindergarten, preschool, and daycare in Saskatchewan?

Kindergarten in Saskatchewan is a school program offered by elementary schools to children that are at least 5 years old. Kindergarten is more academically focused than other child care programs and prepares your child for a school routine and classroom education.

Preschool is a child care program whose primary focus is to gradually transition your child out of a home/daycare environment and into a classroom environment. Preschool is normally offered to 3 to 5 year old children.

Daycare is a child care program whose primary focus is to maintain the overall well being of your child. Most daycare programs are not academically focused and are available to children below the age of 12 years old.

How many kids can you have in a daycare in Saskatchewan?

In Saskatchewan, home daycares can have a maximum of either 8 or 12 children. Daycare centers can have up to 90 children.In a home daycare, each staff member can care for up to 8 children depending on the age groups of enrolled children. In a daycare center, each staff member can care for a maximum of either 3 infants, 5 toddlers, 10 preschool children, or 15 school age children.

What to pack for daycare in Saskatchewan

Is this your first time enrolling your child in a daycare in Saskatchewan? Read our guide on what to pack for daycare and download the free daycare packing PDF checklist.

Daycare Cost Calculator Saskatchewan

Use the daycare cost calculator below to estimate the cost to enroll one or more children full time in a licensed daycare in Saskatchewan.

The daycare rate estimator also shows what Saskatchewan parents pay for daycare now versus what they paid before $10 a day daycare.

Data from the Ministry of Education and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is used to provide rate estimates.

However, the calculator does not take into account any subsidies that you may be eligible for.

The rate estimates provided are for convenience only and will vary from what individual daycare providers charge.

Read: 20 questions to ask daycare providers about their daycare rates

$10 a day daycare in Saskatchewan

How does $10 a day daycare work in Saskatchewan?

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

As a parent, you only pay $217.50 per month if your child attends daycare for at least 10 days per month. If your child attends daycare for less than 10 days per month, then you pay $10 per day that your child attends daycare.

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.

What is the goal of the $10 a day daycare program?

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

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

However, 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.

Who is eligible for $10 a day daycare?

To be eligible for $10 a day daycare, you simply need to have a child under the age of six years old that is enrolled in a licensed home daycare or daycare center.

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

What happens when my child turns six years old?

Once your child turns six years old, the Ministry of Education will no longer pay a portion of your child’s daycare fees.

That means you will have to pay the full, unsubsidized daycare rate in order to maintain your child’s daycare enrollment.

Does immigrant status affect eligibility for $10 a day daycare?

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

You are eligible for $10 a day daycare as long as you have a child below the age of six years that attends a participating licensed daycare.

Neither the nationality nor immigrant status of you or your child is a factor that determines your eligibility for $10 a day daycare.

Types of child care in Saskatchewan

There are two types of child care in Saskatchewan:

1. Licensed child care
2. Unlicensed child care

Every daycare center and home or family daycare in Saskatchewan falls under one of the above types of child care.

Licensed child care in Saskatchewan

What is licensed child care?

Licensed daycare providers in Saskatchewan are actively monitored by the Ministry of Education.

Meaning, the Ministry of Education in Saskatchewan requires licensed daycare providers to meet certain child care standards.

The Ministry of Education also evaluates licensed daycares and provides assistance to help them maintain the required child care standards.

Do all daycares have to be licensed?

No, daycare providers in Saskatchewan can choose to provide either licensed or unlicensed child care. Unlicensed child care is not illegal in Saskatchewan and daycare providers can choose to remain unlicensed.

How to find licensed daycares providers in Saskatchewan

There are over 600 licensed daycares in Saskatchewan as of July 2022.

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

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

However, if you’re looking for a list of all licensed daycare providers in Saskatchewan, the government maintains a list of licensed child care providers that you can use to find a daycare near you.

You can use the search form on the government website to:

• View all licensed daycares near you.
• Find 24 hours daycares.
• Find daycares that offer after hours and weekend child care.
• View bilingual French and English daycare providers.

Read: Daycares in Saskatchewan have a median of 18 children on a waitlist

Specialty licensed daycares in Saskatchewan

As of August 2022:

• 9 licensed daycares offer 24 hour daycare in Saskatchewan.
• 14 licensed daycares offer either after hours or weekend child care.
• There are 12 licensed francophone (bilingual French and English) daycares in Saskatchewan.

Unlicensed child care in Saskatchewan

What is an unlicensed daycare?

Unlicensed daycares are daycare providers that are not actively monitored by the Ministry of Education.

Unlicensed daycare providers are required to maintain proper child to staff ratios and basic health and safety standards. However, they are not monitored or evaluated by the Ministry of Education.

In addition, unlicensed daycare providers do not receive assistance from the Ministry of Education. For example, they do not receive the same grants and access to child care consultants that licensed daycares do.

Are unlicensed daycares legal?

Yes, unlicensed daycare providers can legally provide child care in Saskatchewan. They simply have to maintain proper child to staff ratios and basic health and safety standards.

Are unlicensed daycare providers regulated?

Yes, unlicensed daycare providers are regulated, but not actively monitored by the Ministry of Education in Saskatchewan.

For example, unlicensed daycare providers must follow strict child to caregiver ratios as set by the Ministry of Education. However, the Ministry of Education does not inspect unlicensed daycares to confirm that they meet required child care conditions.

What is the difference between licensed and unlicensed child care?

Below are several differences between licensed and unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan:

• The Ministry of Education monitors licensed daycares but not unlicensed daycares.
• Licensed daycares receive government grants and access to child care consultants while unlicensed daycares do not.
• Licensed daycares can at times have more children in attendance than unlicensed daycares.
• Unlicensed daycares are not required to comply with as many child care standards as licensed daycares.
• Licensed daycares can choose to provide government-subsidized $10 a day daycare while unlicensed daycares cannot.
• Child care subsidies can be granted to assist with paying for licensed daycare but not for unlicensed daycare.

Are unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan safe?

Unlicensed child care is not dangerous.

Additionally, unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan are not inherently inferior or less safe than licensed daycares.

It is entirely possible for any unlicensed daycare provider to exceed the quality of child care provided by a licensed daycare provider.

However, there is little to no government oversight over unlicensed daycares in Saskatchewan.

Therefore, unlicensed daycare providers are less accountable than licensed daycare providers regarding the quality of child care that they provide.

Why don’t unlicensed daycare providers become licensed?

Daycare providers in Saskatchewan may choose to remain unlicensed for several reasons:

1. Operating a licensed daycare adds administrative duties to a daycare provider’s workload.
2. Licensing a daycare is at times conditional on the daycare provider making costly property renovations or modifications.
3. Not all daycare operations are compatible with licensed daycare regulations. For example, licensed daycare providers have a maximum number of hours that they can work per week. Therefore, a 24 hour home daycare provider may choose to remain unlicensed in order to continue operating 24 hours a day.

The above are just a few of the reasons why a daycare provider may choose to remain unlicensed.

What does “city licensed” mean?

Some cities in Saskatchewan, such as the city of Regina, require all home daycare providers to obtain a residential business license.

A residential business license is a permit to operate a home-based business out of your home.

“City licensed” is a term that some unlicensed home daycare providers use to mean that they possess a residential business license.

Being “city licensed” means that a home daycare provider has been granted permission by their city to operate a business out of their home.

It does not mean that a home daycare provides licensed child care.

A home daycare can only provide licensed child care if that home daycare provider has been granted a license from the Ministry of Education.

So in cities like Regina, licensed home daycare providers possess two licenses:

1. A residential business license that allows them to use their home to run a daycare business.
2. A license from the Ministry of Education that verifies the daycare as a licensed child care provider.

Licensed vs unlicensed daycare in Saskatchewan

The decision to enroll your child in either a licensed or unlicensed daycare comes down to how you feel about the actual person that will care for your child.

There are many amazing unlicensed as well as licensed daycare providers in Saskatchewan.

However, only parents of children that are enrolled in licensed daycares are eligible to receive financial assistance from the government to meet child care costs.

Child care regional offices in Saskatchewan

If you have questions about child care, use the information below to contact the child care regional office closest to you.

Your child care regional office will provide answers to questions about how child care works in Saskatchewan.

Read our guides on how to find daycare in Saskatoon or how to find daycare in Regina to learn more about daycare in each city.

Child care regional office contact information

• Humboldt: 306-682-6715
• La Ronge: 1-800-667-4380
• Melfort: 306-752-6164
• Moose Jaw: 306-694-3644
• North Battleford: 306-446-7574 or 306-446-7589
• Prince Albert: 306-953-3612
• Regina: 306-787-4980
• Saskatoon: 306-933-6071
• Swift Current: 306-778-8531
• Weyburn: 306-861-2814
• Yorkton: 306-786-5770

Financial assistance for child care costs in Saskatchewan

The government provides several financial assistance programs to help parents to pay for licensed daycare.

These include:

• Reduced daycare fees under $10 a day daycare.
• Child care subsidies and benefits for lower income families.

Read our $10 a day daycare guide and child care subsidy guide for detailed explanations about how these financial assistance programs work.

The Child Care Subsidy program has been replaced by the Saskatchewan Employment Incentive