How Much Does Daycare Cost in Canada? Fees by Province

What a family pays for daycare in Canada depends first on whether the child has a space in a licensed program that takes part in its province’s agreement with the federal government. Those programs charge a fee the province sets or caps, often around $10 a day; programs outside the system, unlicensed care and nannies charge market rates, which are much higher and which no government publishes. This page sets out the reduced fees province by province, then the other costs. It is part of our directory of what things cost in Canada.

The federal government’s goal, set in Budget 2021, was an average fee of $10 a day for regulated child care by 2025-26. Some provinces reached it; others still charge more.

Reduced fees by province

The lists below give the conditions for the reduced fee in six provinces.

Ontario

• The licensed program is enrolled in the Canada-wide (CWELCC) system; if it isn't, the fee isn't reduced.
• The child is under six (aged 0 to 5).
• The fee is capped at $22 a day; the provincial average is about $19 a day.
• Parents don't apply; the program's parent handbook says whether it is enrolled.

Quebec

• The child is admitted to a subsidized centre (a CPE or subsidized daycare); non-subsidized centres set their own fees.
• The reduced contribution is $9.65 a day in 2026, indexed on January 1 each year.
• The parent lives in Quebec and is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or holds another listed status (such as a temporary worker with a work permit).
• Families on certain income-support programs (such as social assistance) can be exempt from paying it, for up to 5 days a week, for a child under five on September 30.

Alberta

• The child is kindergarten age or younger and not in full-time kindergarten.
• The licensed daycare or family day home receives affordability funding.
• Full-time care (100 or more hours a month) costs $326.25 a month.
• Part-time care (50 to 99 hours a month) costs $230 a month; fewer hours don't qualify.

Saskatchewan

• The child is under six and in licensed child care.
• The fee is $217.50 a month, or $10 a day.
• A kindergarten child who turns six on or after April 1, 2026 stays eligible until the end of the kindergarten year in June or until turning seven, whichever comes first.

Manitoba

• The child is in an infant, nursery or preschool program, for regular hours of care (4 to 10 hours a day).
• The licensed facility receives provincial operating grants; unfunded facilities aren't required to follow the maximum fee.
• Families don't apply.

British Columbia

• The child has a space at a designated $10 a Day ChildCareBC centre; spaces depend on each centre's capacity and waitlist.
• Full days cost $10 a day, up to $200 a month.
• Half days cost $7 a day, up to $140 a month.
• At other licensed centres, fees vary and may be lowered by the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative.

In the other provinces and territories, the provincial or territorial government’s child care page sets out the reduced fee. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ 2026 fee survey (published August 19, 2026) found median infant fees of $10 a day in cities including St. John’s and Charlottetown, $19 in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton, and $23 in Halifax.

Turning a daily fee into a monthly cost

At Ontario’s cap of $22 a day and 21.75 billing days a month, full-time care costs about $479 a month, or $5,742 a year (261 weekdays).

Without a reduced-fee space

Families without a space in a participating program, or using a centre that hasn’t opted in, pay market fees set by the provider. These are typically several times the reduced fee, highest for infants (who need more staff per child) and highest in large cities, and no official source publishes them. The survey found the highest fees in British Columbia, outside its $10-a-day centres, with median infant fees of $52 a day in Richmond.

Spaces in reduced-fee programs are limited, and waitlists, especially for infants in large cities, can be long, so many families join several waitlists during pregnancy.

Extra charges

Nanny vs daycare

A nanny costs the same whether there is one child or three, so for families with two or more young children, or without access to a reduced-fee space, the comparison can tip toward a nanny. A family that employs a nanny is an employer and must register with the CRA, deduct and remit income tax, CPP and EI, and pay vacation pay under provincial employment standards.

Subsidies and tax relief

• Income-tested subsidies: most provinces also run a subsidy that lowers the parent’s share further for low- and middle-income families, applied for through the province or municipality.
• The child care expense deduction: what you pay for child care can be deducted, up to annual limits by age, usually by the lower-income parent; see the child care expense deduction.
• The Canada Child Benefit: a tax-free monthly payment that helps with the cost of young children; see CCB amounts and the CCB calculator.

Related resources

• The cost of raising a child
• The cost of having a baby
• First baby financial guide