Child care expansion too slow, new approach needed
November 26
On this 2025 Manitoba Day of Action on child care, the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba and the Manitoba Child Care Association are calling on the Province of Manitoba to begin creating public child care while also rapidly expanding the number of nonprofit licensed child care spaces.
This year’s Department of Education and Early Learning’s Annual Report shows that Manitoba has a child care space for just 32.3% of preschoolers (far below the 59% national target) and have opened fewer than 4,200 of the promised 23,000 new spaces slated to be created by 2026 under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare (CWELCC) Agreement.
Access to child care is worse in rural communities. Low-income communities have even lower rates of coverage. A recent Probe study commissioned by the Manitoba Child Care Association found parents waiting an average of 17 months for a licensed child care space.
“Every family should be able to find child care that meets their needs, whether it’s located near their home, school, or workplace. Expanding accessible, affordable, and culturally responsive child care will help strengthen communities, support parents’ participation in the workforce, and promote the healthy development of children across the province, “ says Lynda Raible, past president of the Manitoba Child Care Association.
With major steps already taken on affordability with $10 a day for all regulated and publicly-funded spaces, and fairer compensation for workers, the next priority is accelerated space creation to achieve access. Manitoba’s pace of expansion is too slow to meet the demand.
Child care is economic development – it increases the labour force participation of parents, particularly mothers; helps employers attract and retain workers; and is good for children’s development, school readiness and supporting language and cultural development in Indigenous and Francophone communities, for example.
Manitoba is slow to expand child care because it entirely relies on an application-based model. Primarily, this requires volunteer and usually parent-led boards to establish a new facility and to fundraise 40% of the capital costs of a new centre or renovation. It is clear this approach is not creating child care spaces fast enough. In addition to making it easier for non-profits to startup or expand, the province must begin to create publicly-owned and operated child care facilities, using public bodies such as school divisions.
“Manitoba families need the Province of Manitoba and other public bodies to lead the planning, and delivery to meet the urgent need for new, quality public and non-profit child care in Manitoba,” says Molly McCracken Chair, Child Care Coalition of Manitoba.
The Child Care Coalition calls on the Province of Manitoba to:
- Develop a capital and operating expansion and early childhood educator staffing plan that takes a proactive role to rapidly creating the remaining 18,800 infant and preschool spaces promised under the federal CEWLC agreement;
- Update relevant legislation and provide sufficient resources so that school divisions and other public bodies can play an expanded role in child care delivery, similar to British Columbia and Québec.
- Eliminate the requirement that community-based non-profit groups raise 40% of the capital cost of new facilities;
- Ensure Budget 2026 provides sufficient capital funds to meet our child care commitments.
About the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba
The Child Care Coalition of Manitoba is a broadly-based coalition, and our members include parents, current and retired child care workers, unions, women’s organizations, child care centres, organizations committed to social justice and community economic development, and others.
About the Manitoba Child Care Association
Our mission is to advocate for a quality system of child care, to advance early learning and child care education as a profession, and provide services to our members.