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Press Release: Manitoba needs 77,000 more child care spaces to meet families’ needs, says Child Care Coalition of Manitoba

New targets call for government-led expansion of affordable, non-profit child care across the province

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — November 3, 2026

WINNIPEG, MB — Manitoba needs at least 77,000 more child care spaces to meet a national access benchmark, according to new targets the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba released today.

The targets call for 23,000 additional infant and preschool spaces and 54,000 school-age spaces to ensure enough licensed spaces are available for 59% of children in each age group, the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba said at a press conference today at the University of Winnipeg Student Association Daycare, 548 Furby Place. 

“Child care is essential infrastructure for Manitoba’s economy and for families,” says Madelaine Dwyer from the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba. “Parents need access to affordable, high-quality child care to work, pursue education and training, and support their families. Employers need workers, and children benefit from enriching early learning. When child care is unavailable, everyone loses.”

Manitoba has made significant progress in recent years, including introducing $10-a-day child care, adding thousands of new spaces, increasing wages for early childhood educators, and increasing operating funding for child care centres. However, licensed spaces currently serve only about 22% of children in Manitoba, and families still face long waits and limited options, particularly for parents working evenings, weekends, and rotating shifts.

The Coalition says the province must change its current approach to expansion. Under the current model, parent volunteers must raise 40% of the capital costs of building or renovating child care centres and take on significant planning and construction responsibilities.

“Parents shouldn’t have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars and manage construction projects to get child care in their communities,” says Susan Prentice, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manitoba and Coalition member. “We don’t expect parent volunteers to build schools. Child care is a public good, and government must take the lead in ensuring spaces are available where and when families need them.”

The Coalition is calling on the Manitoba government to commit to four key actions:

  1. Create at least 77,000 net new spaces in the public and non-profit child care system, including 23,000 infant and preschool spaces and 54,000 school-age spaces, with government leading expansion planning.
  2. Eliminate the requirement for parent volunteers to fundraise 40% of capital costs for new and renovated child care facilities.
  3. Expand extended-hour care in partnership with non-profit centres and public providers to support families working evenings, weekends and rotating shifts.
  4. Ensure good jobs for child care workers through regular improvements to wages, benefits and professional development, so new spaces can be staffed and remain available to families.

The Coalition emphasizes that building more spaces must go hand in hand with investing in the early childhood education workforce. Without fair compensation and good working conditions, centres will struggle to recruit and retain the educators needed to open new spaces.

“Manitoba has demonstrated that public investment can make child care more affordable and support the creation of new spaces. Now we need a clear, ambitious plan to close the remaining gap. A comprehensive, universally accessible child care system will help families thrive, support women’s participation in the workforce, create good jobs and strengthen Manitoba’s economy,” says Susan Prentice. 

The Child Care Coalition of Manitoba is calling on the provincial government to adopt and plan for these targets. 

Background on the Data 

As of March 31, 2025, Manitoba had 207,336 children (89,895 aged 0-5 and 117,441 aged 6-12) (Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Annual Report for 2024-25).

According to the Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Annual Report for 2024-25 (the most current available Annual Report), Manitoba had 29,060 licensed pre-school childcare spaces and 14,589 licensed school age spaces as of March 31, 2025.

The department has not yet published its Annual Report for 2025-26. However, through a Freedom of Information request, CCCM obtained the number of childcare spaces opened between April 1, 2025 and November 25, 2025, giving us partial-year numbers of newly opened spaces: 685 preschool and 518 school-age.

Adding partial-year figures for 2025-26 (obtained through FIPPA) to the Annual Report figures for 2024-25 gives us the following total numbers of childcare spaces in Manitoba: 29,475 preschool spaces and 15,107 school-age spaces, or a total of 44,852.

With 44,852 spaces, Manitoba provides childcare for only 22% of our children. To reach the national benchmark 59% coverage rate for the 2025 child population, Manitoba must create 77,000 new spaces.