Daycare For Immigrants in Saskatchewan

According to a 2023 study, daycares in Saskatchewan have an average of 87 children on a daycare waitlist.

Therefore, we strongly recommend adding your child to daycare waitlists at least 6 months before you arrive 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 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 all licensed daycare providers in Saskatchewan, the government maintains a list of licensed child care providers that you can use to find a daycare in Saskatchewan.

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

Immigrants in Saskatchewan 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.

In most licensed daycares in Saskatchewan:

• Daycare costs $217.50 per month for each child below the age of 6 years that attends daycare for 10 or more days per month.
• Daycare costs $10 per day for each child below the age of 6 years that attends daycare for less than 10 days per month.

Daycare prices for 6 year old and older children vary by daycare provider.

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

Every child under the age of six years old that is enrolled in a participating licensed daycare in Saskatchewan is automatically eligible for $10 a day daycare.

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

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

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

In Saskatchewan, there is a difference between subsidized daycare and a child care subsidy.

A child care subsidy is financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Social Services to help lower income families specifically to pay for licensed daycare in Saskatchewan.

Subsidized daycare is financial assistance provided to make daycare more affordable for all families in Saskatchewan.

$10 a day daycare is an example of subsidized daycare. Immigrants may be eligible for subsidized daycare programs like $10 a 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 Saskatchewan. However, English is the most common language spoken in Saskatchewan.

According to the 2021 Population Census, English is the mother tongue of 81.7% of Saskatchewan residents.

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

However, daycares in Saskatchewan do not often list the non-official languages that they speak.

Therefore, 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 are the best way to find a child care provider that speaks your mother tongue.

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

According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 56.3% of Saskatchewan residents are Christian
• 36.6% of Saskatchewan residents have no religion
• 2.3% of Saskatchewan residents are Muslim
• 1.3% of Saskatchewan residents Hindu

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

• 57.5% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Christian
• 16.3% of immigrants in Saskatchewan have no religion
• 13% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Muslim
• 6.9% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Hindu
• 3.5% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Sikh
• 2% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Buddhist
• 0.2% of immigrants in Saskatchewan are Jewish

Searching online for a daycare in Saskatchewan 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.

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 is the best way to find a child care provider that aligns with your religion.

Regina and Saskatoon are the cities with the largest immigrant population in Saskatchewan.

According to the 2021 Population Census:

• 18.8% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Regina
• 18% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Saskatoon
• 11.8% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Swift Current
• 11.7% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in North Battleford
• 10.8% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Estevan
• 10.6% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Yorkton
• 10.4% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Weyburn
• 9.1% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Moose Jaw
• 8.5% of immigrants in Saskatchewan live in Prince Albert

Immigrants in Saskatchewan 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:

• 62.9% of immigrants in Saskatchewan come from Asia. Philippines, India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Syria are the most common countries of origin for Asian immigrants living in Saskatchewan.
• 15.8% of immigrants in Saskatchewan come from Europe. United Kingdom, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Romania, and Russian Federation are the most common countries of origin for European immigrants living in Saskatchewan.
• 11.7% of immigrants in Saskatchewan come from Africa. Nigeria, South Africa, Eritrea, Egypt, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia are the most common countries of origin for African immigrants living in Saskatchewan.
• 9.1% of immigrants in Saskatchewan come from the Americas. United States of America, Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, El Salvador, and Brazil are the most common countries of origin for immigrants from the Americas.