CARDUS

Home | Research & Policy Library | Child Care by the Numbers: Manitoba

Child Care by the Numbers: Manitoba

January 28, 2021

Family

Research Brief

Child Care

The federal government intends to implement a national universal child-care program that will require the provinces to exchange autonomy for funding directed toward a one-size-fits-all system. A national universal child-care program is structurally opposed to equity for all families, because it limits funding based on the type of care families use. There are better options.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of parents in Manitoba and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

Child care is the care of a child, no matter who provides that care. Families have diverse care needs and rely on a variety of forms of care to meet those needs. Public policy best serves families when it offers flexibility and choice. Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of parents in Manitoba and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

  • Of Manitoba children under age six, about 49 percent are parental care only. 1 1 Source: Statistics Canada, “Early Learning and Child Care for Children aged 0 to 5 years: A Provincial/Territorial Portrait,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2019013-eng.htm.
  • The majority of Manitoba children under age six will receive no benefit from funds designated for centre-based spaces.
  • About 4 percent of Manitoba children under age six are in parental care because the parent could not find another option. 2 2 Source: Statistics Canada, “Early Learning and Child Care for Children aged 0 to 5 years: A Provincial/Territorial Portrait,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2019013-eng.htm.
  • Of all Manitoba children under age six (those in non-parental child care and those who are not), about 26 percent are in centre-based care or preschool. 3 3 Calculations based on Statistics Canada, “Table 42-10-0004-01 & Table 42-10-0005-01: Early Learning and Child Care for Children aged 0 to 5 years: A Provincial/Territorial Portrait,” https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-626-x/11-626-x2019013-eng.htm.