How to Start in Canada

How to Apply for the New Brunswick Daycare Assistance Program

New Brunswick's Daycare Assistance Program is now part of Childcare Financial Assistance: one online application through the Parent Portal, for a child enrolled in a licensed early learning and childcare facility, with benefits based on gross annual household income up to $80,000.

Written November 10, 2026 · 9 min read

Applies in: New Brunswick

The short answer

New Brunswick's Daycare Assistance Program is now called Childcare Financial Assistance, run by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. There is one application for both programs inside it, and it is completed online only, through the Parent Portal. Your child must be enrolled in a licensed early learning and childcare facility in New Brunswick, and benefits are determined on a sliding scale based on gross annual household income up to $80,000.

The two programs under that one application are:

  • Parent Subsidy Program — financial support for parents with preschool children aged 0 to 5, not yet in school, enrolled in a designated early learning and childcare facility.
  • Childcare Assistance Program — financial support for parents with preschool children aged 0 to 5, not yet in school, enrolled in a non-designated early learning and childcare facility, or children aged 5 to 12 enrolled in a school-age program.

You do not pick a program when you apply. You complete one application, and the Portal works out which program fits your child's enrolment.

Who can apply

To apply, parents must be working, enrolled in a training or educational program, have a parent referral, or have a referral from a child program. You may qualify if your gross annual household income (before deductions) is $80,000 or less. Parents with an income of $37,500 or less whose preschool child is enrolled in a designated early learning and childcare facility may qualify for free childcare.

Benefit amounts are based on the facility licence type, the age of your child, and the designation status of the licence. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify. That decision sits with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Before you apply: the Parent Portal and the enrolment offer

Since July 2025, the application process for Childcare Financial Assistance is available exclusively online through the Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is the same secure system used to accept the enrolment offer from your child's early learning and childcare facility.

Two details matter before you start:

  • Use the same Parent Portal account that you used to accept the enrolment offer from your child's early learning and childcare facility. If your child is not yet enrolled but an enrolment offer has been issued, accept the offer in the Parent Portal by following the directions in the email.
  • Use the same email address to create your Parent Portal account and apply for Childcare Financial Assistance, and it must be the same email address you provided to the operator for the enrolment offer.

If you do not have an email address or access to the internet, contact the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Monday to Friday between 8:15 am and 4:30 pm by phone at 1-833-221-9339 or by email at EECDPortal-PortailEDPE@gnb.ca to request support.

You can apply for Childcare Financial Assistance benefits up to 60 days before your child starts at a licensed early learning and childcare facility. If you expect to have an enrolment offer within 60 days, you can apply and be pre-approved for up to 60 days. If an offer is not active within that time frame, you will need to reapply.

How to apply, step by step

  1. Sign in or register for the Parent Portal. Visit the Parent Portal and either sign into your existing account or register for a new account. If you are registering, an email will be sent to you requesting that you confirm your email address.
  2. Open the application. From the Home page, select Childcare Financial Assistance and then Apply for Childcare Financial Assistance.
  3. Choose your application type. Pick the type that best describes your reason for applying:
  4. Regular — both parents are working or enrolled in an education or training program.
  5. Parent Referral — you have a referral letter for a medical referral, a Social Development referral, or a high school referral.
  6. Child Program Referral — your child has a referral letter from Family and Early Childhood (Early Intervention), Making Friends Learning Together - Access, Making Friends Learning Together – Post EYE-DA, VIVA Therapeutic Services, a Social Development referral, or the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA).
  7. Review the required documentation. The required documentation varies based on the application type you selected. Review what is needed and collect it before you continue.
  8. Verify your address and contact information, then select Next.
  9. Complete the applicant's information for the primary applicant as well as the secondary applicant, if applicable, then select Next.
  10. Complete the referral step, if it applies. If you are applying through a Parent Referral or Child Program Referral, you will be prompted to select the referral type or child program that applies to you.
  11. Upload your required documents. Choose a document type from the dropdown menu, then choose a document to upload from your computer or mobile device. The document will appear in your list of uploaded documents. Repeat the upload steps for the secondary applicant, if there is one. Missing documents may delay application processing.
  12. Verify your child's enrolment details. If you have previously registered a child on the Parent Portal, you will see a screen for each child displaying their current enrolment details. Review them and confirm they are correct by selecting Yes. If they are not correct, select No and you will be prompted to add notes. If you need to add another child, or are registering your child for the first time, select Yes, Add a child and follow the steps for registering your child. Once enrolment details are confirmed, click Next.
  13. Review and submit. Review the application summary and supporting documents to ensure they are accurate and complete. Read the Declaration and Consent section, check the box indicating that you agree to the conditions, and provide your electronic signature by typing your name in the signature box. Select Submit Application.

You can save your progress and return to complete your application at a later date. Sign into your Parent Portal account and you will see a red alert button beside Required Actions if there is something to finish.

After you apply

You will receive an email notification at the email address you used to register for the Parent Portal. To view the decision, click the link in the notification, which will take you directly to the decision page, or sign into the Parent Portal and select Programs and Services. You can also track the status of your application there.

If your application is incomplete or missing information, you will receive an email notification indicating that there is a required action. Click the link in the email to go to your Parent Portal account, where you will select Required Actions for more details.

Keeping your benefits current

If any of the following apply to your household, go to the Programs and Services tab of your Parent Portal account and select Update Information to submit an amendment request for your existing Childcare Financial Assistance benefits:

  • change in household income;
  • change in marital status;
  • extension of benefits (applicable only for Parent Referral and Child Program Referral applications); or
  • termination of benefits.

If you move your child to another licensed early learning and childcare facility, the benefit transfers to your new licence when you accept an enrolment offer from your new childcare provider.

If you share custody of your child, both parents must apply for the Childcare Financial Assistance benefit separately. Each parent must create their own account in the Parent Portal and apply for a subsidy, and each parent should receive a separate enrolment offer from the childcare provider. Approved benefits are applied to each parent based on the enrolment details submitted by the childcare provider.

For questions about the application process, email EECDPortal-PortailEDPE@gnb.ca or call 1-833-221-9339, Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened Government of New Brunswick pages state the $80,000 gross annual household income limit and the $37,500 threshold for free childcare at a designated facility, but they do not publish the dollar amount of the benefit for each income band on the sliding scale, so this guide states no per-band rate. They also do not publish a processing time for applications, a fixed annual reassessment or renewal date, or the length of an approval period, so this guide states none of those; instead it walks the Update Information route the pages do describe for changes to income, marital status, or benefits. The plot-time instruction to walk an annual reassessment was not followed as written, because the opened pages do not describe one.

Related guides:

Applying for New Brunswick Childcare Financial Assistance, in six steps

  1. Create a Parent Portal accountRegister with the email address you gave your childcare facility, and confirm your email address.
  2. Accept the enrolment offerAccept your child's enrolment offer from the licensed facility in the same Parent Portal account.
  3. Open the one applicationFrom the Home page, select Childcare Financial Assistance, then Apply for Childcare Financial Assistance.
  4. Choose your application type and upload documentsPick Regular, Parent Referral, or Child Program Referral, then upload the documents the Portal lists for that type.
  5. Confirm enrolment details and submitCheck the enrolment details for each child, review the summary, sign the Declaration and Consent, and submit.
  6. Watch for the decision by emailAn email tells you the decision is ready; view it in the Parent Portal under Programs and Services.

Questions people ask

Is the Daycare Assistance Program still called that in New Brunswick?

The name on the province's pages is now Childcare Financial Assistance, run by the Education and Early Childhood Development department. The Childcare Assistance Program inside it covers preschool children in a non-designated facility and children aged 5 to 12 in a school-age program, and this guide keeps the older Daycare Assistance Program name in its title because that is the name many parents still search for.

How much help can I get from New Brunswick Childcare Financial Assistance?

Benefits are worked out on a sliding scale based on gross annual household income, and you may qualify if that income is $80,000 or less. If your income is $37,500 or less and your preschool child is enrolled in a designated early learning and childcare facility, you may qualify for free childcare. What the province has not published is the dollar amount for each income band on that sliding scale, so no per-band rate appears in this guide. The amount also depends on the facility licence type, the age of your child, and the designation status of the licence.

Does my child have to attend a licensed facility?

Yes. Childcare Financial Assistance is for a child enrolled in a licensed early learning and childcare facility in New Brunswick. The two programs split on the facility: the Parent Subsidy Program is for preschool children aged 0 to 5, not yet in school, enrolled in a designated facility, and the Childcare Assistance Program is for preschool children in a non-designated facility or children aged 5 to 12 enrolled in a school-age program.

Can I apply before my child has a space at a facility?

Yes — you can apply up to 60 days before your child starts at a licensed facility, and the pre-approval lasts up to 60 days, so if no enrolment offer is active within 60 days of the approval date the benefit expires and you submit a new application.

How will I know whether my application was approved?

An email goes to the address you used to register for the Parent Portal, telling you the decision is ready. Follow the link in that email to the decision page, or sign in and look under Programs and Services — and if anything is missing, the email will tell you there is a required action to finish in the Portal.

What do I do if my income, marital status, or childcare arrangements change?

In the Programs and Services tab of your Parent Portal account, select Update Information and submit an amendment request. That covers a change in household income or marital status, an extension of benefits for Parent Referral and Child Program Referral applications only, and a termination of benefits. Moving your child to another licensed facility is handled differently: the benefit transfers to the new licence when you accept an enrolment offer from the new provider. If you share custody, each parent applies separately under their own account.

Keep going

Sources

Get new guides by email

One short email when a new Canadian startup guide publishes. No spam — unsubscribe anytime.

We use your address only for the newsletter. Privacy policy.