How to Apply for the Nunavut Child Care Subsidy
Nunavut's Daycare Subsidy helps low-income families pay for child care while they work or study, and you apply for it through your community Income Assistance Worker.
How to Apply for the Manitoba Child Care Subsidy
Manitoba's Child Care Subsidy pays the daily fees at a licensed child care facility for eligible families, and since September 13, 2026 it covers the full fee, making child care free for eligible families.
Applies in: Manitoba
The short answer
Manitoba's Child Care Subsidy pays the daily fees charged by a licensed early learning and child care facility on behalf of eligible families. It covers children from 12 weeks to 12 years of age. Effective September 13, 2026, both the family contribution and non-subsidized daily fee were eliminated for all eligible families under the Child Care Subsidy Program, making child care free for eligible Manitoba families. An eligible family receives full subsidy and all the child care fees are covered.
The licensed-facility rule comes first. Your child must be enrolled in a provincially licensed centre, nursery school, or child care home in Manitoba. If the facility is not licensed, or is a licensed facility that does not enrol subsidized children, the subsidy application cannot be approved. Use the Manitoba Child Care Search to find a licensed facility and confirm enrolment before you count on the subsidy.
Who can receive it
Eligibility rests on two things: a reason for care, and an income test. To qualify, you and your co-applicant, when applicable, must have at least one of these reasons for care:
- Employment — full-time, part-time, seasonal, shift work, casual, remote, or self-employment. Volunteer work does not count unless it is a prerequisite for an approved reason for care.
- Education — high school, college, university, online courses, practicum placements, English as an additional language programs, or adult education programs. General interest, fitness, or leisure programs do not count.
- Seeking employment.
- Special needs — of the child or the applicant, including a child assessed by a qualified professional as having additional support needs.
- Medical or rehabilitation — a long-term or short-term medical condition, addictions recovery or treatment, or maternity or parental leave while collecting Employment Insurance benefits.
- Nursery school enrolment — this reason needs no other reason for care. Assessment is still income-based, and subsidy is available for up to 5 nursery school sessions (0 to 4 hours) per week.
The income test follows the calculations in the Child Care Regulation, M.R. 62/86, and takes in annual household income, allowable family deductions based on family composition and dependent children under 18, the number and ages of children, and the cost of licensed child care. Families receiving Employment and Income Assistance still need a reason for care but are not subject to the income test.
How to apply
You have two routes:
- Apply online. Register on Child Care Online, verify your account by email within 30 minutes of registering, then log in and complete the subsidy application. You can save a working copy for up to 30 days before submitting it. Once submitted, you cannot view or edit it online; email changes to the program with your submission number.
- Apply on paper. Contact the Child Care Subsidy Program to get a paper application mailed to you, and send the required documents with the completed application.
Before you apply, gather the documents the program will ask for:
- For employment: copies of two current back-to-back paystubs.
- For self-employment: your income tax return and a Canada Revenue Agency Proof of Income Statement showing lines 13500 to 14300.
- For Employment Insurance: your Employment Income Gross Amount Statement.
- For other income: supporting documentation.
- The name of the licensed child care facility your child will attend. You can submit the application before your child is enrolled, but it cannot be processed until the facility name is provided.
Two deadlines bind the application. Financial documents must be submitted within 31 days of the date of application, and the name of the facility must be submitted within 90 days. Applications are closed and families need to reapply if the documents or information are not provided inside those timelines.
Before filling in the application, you can use the Subsidy Eligibility Estimator to estimate whether you might be eligible. Eligibility can only be confirmed through the application process itself.
After approval
Approval periods run from six months up to a maximum of one year. The start and end dates are written on the subsidy approval letter. Keep track of the end date and reapply before it expires.
Attendance matters. When a child attends 85% or more of the days in an approval period, subsidy is paid for all days, attended and absent. If absent days pass 15% of the total days, subsidy is paid only for the days the child attended, and the facility bills you for the absent days after that point. In special circumstances such as an accident or medical condition, families can contact the program to ask for approval of extra absent days.
Tell the program if your information changes after you apply or after you receive your approval letter: a change in income, job, school enrolment, or care arrangements can change the subsidy. Email the program at cdcsubsidy@gov.mb.ca with your submission number.
This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify. The program decides that when it assesses your application.
What the opened pages do not state
The Manitoba page states the September 13, 2026 change, the age range, the licensed-facility rule, the reasons for care, the approval-period length, the attendance rule, and the document deadlines, but it does not publish income thresholds or a subsidy rate table, so this guide states neither. The page also does not publish a processing time in the text opened for this guide, so this guide gives none. Do not carry another province's rates or income lines into this program; Manitoba's program is distinct.
Related guides:
- How to Apply for the Manitoba Child Benefit — Manitoba's child benefit, also administered by the CRA with the Canada Child Benefit.
- How to Apply for Manitoba Employment and Income Assistance — Manitoba's income assistance program, whose recipients still need a reason for care but skip the subsidy income test.
- How to Apply for Manitoba Rent Assist — Manitoba's rent benefit for low-income renters.
- How to Start Getting Childcare Covered in Canada — the national picture: fee reductions, subsidies, and the Canada Child Benefit.
- How to Open a Daycare Centre in Manitoba — the steps to open a licensed child care centre in Manitoba.
- How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal monthly benefit for families with children under 18.
Applying for the Manitoba Child Care Subsidy, in five steps
- Check whether you might qualifyUse the Subsidy Eligibility Estimator before you apply. Only the application itself can confirm eligibility.
- Register on Child Care OnlineCreate an account, verify it by email within 30 minutes, and open the subsidy application.
- Submit the application and documentsSend financial documents within 31 days and the name of the licensed facility within 90 days.
- Read your approval letterIt gives the start and end dates of your approval period, which runs from six months to a maximum of one year.
- Reapply before the approval endsApply again before the expiry date, and tell the program about any change in income, work, or care arrangements.
Questions people ask
What does the Manitoba Child Care Subsidy pay for?
The subsidy pays the daily fees charged by a licensed early learning and child care facility on behalf of eligible families. Effective September 13, 2026, both the family contribution and the non-subsidized daily fee were eliminated for all eligible families, making child care free for eligible Manitoba families.
Does my child have to attend a licensed facility?
Yes. Your child must be enrolled in a provincially licensed centre, nursery school, or child care home in Manitoba. If the facility is not licensed, or is a licensed facility that does not enrol subsidized children, the subsidy application cannot be approved.
How old must my child be for the Manitoba Child Care Subsidy?
The program covers children from 12 weeks to 12 years of age. Part-time attendance is covered too: your family is assessed and approved for the days your child attends a licensed facility.
How do I apply for the Manitoba Child Care Subsidy?
Apply online through Child Care Online, where you register an account, verify it by email, and complete the subsidy application. Or contact the Child Care Subsidy Program to have a paper application mailed to you. Financial documents are due within 31 days of the date of application, and the name of the facility is due within 90 days.
How long does Manitoba child care subsidy approval last?
Approval periods run from six months up to a maximum of one year. The start and end dates are written on the subsidy approval letter. Reapply before the expiry date, because there is limited ability to backdate a late application.
Do I need a reason for child care to qualify in Manitoba?
Yes. You must have at least one reason for care: employment, education, seeking employment, special needs, medical or rehabilitation, or nursery school enrolment. Nursery school enrolment is the exception to the work or school rule: it is income-tested but needs no other reason for care, for up to five sessions a week.
Sources
- Government of Manitoba, Child Care Subsidy FAQ — the September 13, 2026 elimination of the family contribution and non-subsidized daily fee, the 12-weeks-to-12-years age range, the licensed-facility rule, the reasons for care, the six-month-to-one-year approval periods, the 85 percent attendance rule, the online and paper application routes, the 31-day and 90-day document deadlines, and the Subsidy Eligibility Estimator.