November 25, 2025
Manitoba Builds more than 5,300 Child-Care Spaces in Last Two Years
– – –New Spaces Are Complemented by New Initiatives to Hire Child-Care Professionals: Schmidt, Gainey
The governments of Canada and Manitoba have opened or are building 5,350 new child-care spaces since October 2023, with another 6,041 committed and a new strategy to recruit and retain child-care professionals launched to support more access to child care, Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt and federal Secretary of State for Children and Youth, Anna Gainey announced today.
“More public child-care spaces are good for families and for our economy. It’s a strong start for kids and a big boost to parents – particularly women – looking to go back to work,” said Schmidt. “But increasing child-care spots is about more than bricks and mortar, it’s about people. Our new recruitment strategy offers good jobs with fair wages and competitive benefits, and brings workers who have left the sector back in with a new incentive program.”
“In partnership with the Manitoba government, Canada’s new government is creating thousands of new affordable child-care spaces in the province over the coming years,” said Gainey. “Our investment expands access for Manitoba parents to take advantage of more affordable child care and for children to get the best start in life.”
The new spaces are only made possible when there are child-care professionals to staff them, noted Schmidt.
“As Manitoba’s largest child-care provider, we see every day how crucial child care is to Manitoba families and our overall economy,” said Cordella Friesen, president and CEO, YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg. “We’re thrilled to see the progress the Manitoba government has made to date and we look forward to working with them to expand child care even further.”
The new Higher Wages, Good Jobs, More Child Care strategy lays out a roadmap to recruit and support the child-care workforce in Manitoba. Organized around three pillars – recruitment, retention and recognition – the strategy will implement a number of initiatives to achieve its workforce goals, the minister noted.
“Having access to affordable, high-quality child care has been life-changing for our family,” said Quinn Suderman, a Winnipeg parent of two. “It’s not just about having a spot, it’s knowing our children are in a safe, nurturing environment with educators who truly care. It gives us peace of mind and the flexibility to work and support our family.”
A key part of the strategy, the early childhood educators (ECE) recruit-back incentive has just been launched with the goal of recruiting child-care professionals who have left the field. The initiative provides a $5,000 incentive for ECE II and IIIs who have not worked in a Manitoba licensed child-care centre or licensed home-based child-care setting for at least two consecutive years to return to full-time employment in a Manitoba licensed and non-profit child-care facility.
This strategy complements a wage increase for child-care professionals introduced in May 2025, which saw front-line ECE wages increase by up to $5 an hour.
Funding for these initiatives and the new child-care spaces is jointly supported through provincial and federal investments under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
Background Information
Child-Care Spaces in Last Two Years - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2025/11/BG-Child-care_Spaces-EECL.pdf