How to Apply for the Manitoba Child Benefit

The short answer

The Manitoba Child Benefit (MCB) needs a separate paper application. Download the printable PDF of the application, Form MG 9217, fill it out, and mail it to Provincial Services, 100 – 114 Garry Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4V4. There is no online application on the Manitoba page — the page points you to a printable PDF of the guidelines for completing the application, then a printable PDF of the application itself.

Two conditions sit up front, before the form. You must be in receipt of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for the dependent children in your care, and you must not be receiving Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) — unless you are only receiving the health benefits portion of EIA. The benefit is a monthly amount for lower-income Manitobans with dependent children in their care, paid through direct deposit.

What the benefit pays

Low-income families may be eligible for up to $35.00 a month per child, or $420 tax-free each year for every child. The Manitoba page gives one worked example: for a single parent of three children working full or part time and earning $15,000 or less, the benefit totals $1,260, with partial benefits for parents who earn $15,000 to $20,000. Family income is based on the previous year's income.

The benefit also provides parents with additional assistance to help with some of the costs of prescription eyeglasses for their children, through the Children's Opti-Care Program linked from the same page. That program is a separate benefit — this guide only notes it here and does not walk its application.

Benefit levels by family size

The Manitoba brochure gives the maximum benefit and the partial-benefit income range for families of up to six children:

The table is a general guide only — your actual benefit is set by an individual assessment of your application. Benefits start from the month your completed application is received, and applications can be submitted at any time. The Income Supplement Programs office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Who cannot get it: wards of the province and children in temporary placement under The Child and Family Services Act are not eligible for the Manitoba Child Benefit, and members of a First Nation who live on a reserve are not eligible.

Step 1: Confirm the two prerequisites

Before you fill in the form, check both conditions on the Manitoba page:

• You are a resident of Manitoba with dependent children under 18 in your care, and you are in receipt of Canada Child Benefits for those children. If you do not yet receive the CCB, apply for that first — the steps are in our How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit guide. The CCB application is a separate federal process and this guide does not repeat it.
• You are not receiving Employment and Income Assistance, unless you are only receiving the health benefits portion of EIA. The application form asks whether you are receiving income assistance for yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, or your dependents, and says that if you are registered with EIA and only receiving health benefits, you should check "No."

Step 2: Download the guidelines and Form MG 9217

From the Manitoba Child Benefit page, download the printable PDF of the guidelines for completing the MCB application first, then the printable PDF of the MCB application itself, Form MG 9217 (Rev. 06/14). Read the guidelines before you fill in the form — they explain what each section asks for.

The form asks for your current information and your spouse or common-law partner's information, each dependent child under 18 with their birthdate and whether you are receiving Canada Child Benefits for them, your telephone number, your marital status, and whether you or your spouse are a member of a First Nation or live on a First Nation reserve. If you have more than eight children under 18, list the extra children on a separate sheet and attach it to the application.

Step 3: Attach your Canada Child Benefit notice

The program uses the net family income on your Canada Child Benefit notice to determine your eligibility. You have two choices, both printed on the form:

• Enclose a photocopy of your current Canada Child Benefit notice, or
• Tick the box asking the Manitoba Child Benefit Program to obtain a copy of your notice directly from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Either way, you also sign the Canada Revenue Agency authorization section of the form, which both you and your spouse or common-law partner must sign if you have one. That authorization lets the CRA release information from your income tax returns to Manitoba Family Services, to determine and verify eligibility for the Manitoba Child Benefit. It covers the most recently available of the two taxation years before the year you sign, the year of signature, and each consecutive taxation year after that for which you request assistance. You can withdraw the consent at any time by writing to Manitoba Family Services.

Sign the declaration as well: you declare the information given is true and complete, and you consent to the program securing information from any source needed for verification. Anyone who knowingly makes a false or misleading statement in the application is guilty of an offence under The Social Services Administration Act.

Step 4: Mail the application

Mail the completed form to:

Provincial Services 100 – 114 Garry Street Winnipeg, MB R3C 4V4

Phone: 204-948-7368 Toll-free: 1-877-587-6224 Email: incsup@gov.mb.ca

Keep a copy of everything you send. If you have questions about the form, the same phone numbers and email address reach the Manitoba Child Benefit Program.

Step 5: Set up direct deposit

The Manitoba Child Benefit is paid through direct deposit, so set that up as its own step rather than assuming a cheque will arrive. Download the MCB direct deposit form from the Manitoba Child Benefit page and send it in. If your banking details change later, send a new direct deposit form rather than waiting for a payment to fail.

What the opened pages do not state

The Manitoba Child Benefit page and the application form do not state a processing time for the application. The partial-benefit income bands for families of four, five, and six children are in the benefit-levels table above, from the Manitoba brochure. The pages also do not state whether the application can be emailed in, so this guide gives only the mailing address the page publishes. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is the program's decision when it assesses your application and your Canada Child Benefit notice.

Related guides:

• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal benefit you must already be receiving, with the full application steps.
• How to Apply for the Ontario Child Benefit — Ontario's child benefit, which is assessed automatically from the CCB application rather than by a separate paper form.
• How to Apply for Manitoba Employment and Income Assistance — Manitoba's income assistance program, which excludes you from the MCB except for the health-benefits-only portion.
• How to Get a Manitoba Health Card in Manitoba — Manitoba's health card, a separate provincial program with its own application.

Sources

• Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Child Benefit — the monthly benefit for lower-income Manitobans with dependent children, up to $35.00 a month per child and $420 a year per child, the $15,000 full-benefit line and $15,000 to $20,000 partial range, the Canada Child Benefit prerequisite, the EIA exclusion except for the health benefits portion, payment through direct deposit, the paper application by mail, and the Provincial Services address, phone numbers, and email.
• Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Child Benefit brochure — the benefit-levels table by family size, the partial-benefit income ranges, the exclusions for wards of the province, children in temporary placement, and First Nation members living on a reserve, benefits effective from the month the completed application is received, and office hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
• Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Child Benefit Application, Form MG 9217 — the form number MG 9217 (Rev. 06/14), the mailing address, the Canada Child Benefit notice requirement and the option to have the program obtain it from the CRA, the EIA health-benefits-only instruction, and the CRA authorization and declaration sections.
• Canada Revenue Agency, How to apply — Canada child benefit (CCB) — the CCB application routes, for readers who need the federal benefit first.