How to Become a Foster Parent in Canada

The short answer

In Canada, this is temporary care. A child who cannot live with their own family for a time lives with a family while the child-welfare authority, the child's family, and the family work toward the plan for that child. The authority that places the child decides placement and matching. Alberta states the aim directly: ideally, a child in temporary care returns home to their birth family as soon as possible, and temporary care is the temporary living arrangement made when Children and Family Services is unable to identify and support kinship care. This is not adoption. Adoption is a separate, permanent process that ends in a court order, and it is described in the adoption guide linked in Related guides.

There is no single national application, no national licence, and no single national training course. Each province and territory sets its own process, names its own authority or agency, and decides approval, licensing, or agreement under its own law. Ontario's process runs under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and its regulations. Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Manitoba each describe their own steps on the pages linked. Start with the page for the province or territory where you live, and follow the route that page describes. Do not read one province's eligibility condition, training name, or approval instrument as a national rule.

This guide gives process information only. It states no view on whether any reader qualifies, it recommends no training provider, and it gives no legal, medical, or financial advice. Where a figure, a fee, a timeline, or a training hour total was not verified on a linked official page, the guide says so plainly and names the page to confirm it on, rather than filling the gap from an agency summary or a secondary source. Recheck date: 1 May 2027. On that date, recheck the Ontario Policy Directives RL 001-23 and CW 003-20, the Alberta caregiver page, the British Columbia caregiver page, the Quebec foster family procedure and criteria pages, and the Manitoba Residents Portal Foster Care page named in Sources, and confirm that every figure carried here still appears there.

Step 1: Contact the authority your province names

The first step is a contact, not a form. Alberta states that to find out about becoming a caregiver, a person contacts Children and Family Services or a Delegated First Nation Agency, which will assign a worker to answer questions and help through the application process, and it gives a phone number of 1-844-957-0552. British Columbia states that the first step is to call the B.C. Foster Parents Association, Monday through Friday from 8:30AM to 4:00PM at 1-800-663-9999, or the Indigenous Perspectives Society at 1-250-857-4969, prepared to provide a name and age, the names and ages of the people who live in the home, what kind of space is available, and the children the applicant could care for. Quebec states that a person who would like to become a foster family contacts the public institution in their region, which will inform them of the next steps. Manitoba states that a person approaches a child and family services agency and requests an invitation to a caregiver orientation, and the Residents Portal page gives province-wide intake at 1-866-345-9241.

Use the contact for the province where you live. A Delegated First Nation Agency in Alberta, an Indigenous Child and Family Services Agency in British Columbia, and the regional public institution in Quebec are named as entry points in their own right, not as alternatives to be chosen for convenience. Ask at first contact which office handles the file for the applicant's home address, what the next step is, and which documents to prepare, and write down the worker's name and the office that will hold the file.

Step 2: Attend the information or orientation session the authority names

An information or orientation session comes before the formal application in the provinces that describe one, and its purpose is to let the applicant decide whether to proceed on full information about what the work involves. British Columbia states that the session organizer will let the applicant know about local information sessions, that topics include how to become a caregiver, what is involved in being a caregiver, and an overview of British Columbia's temporary care system, and that only after the information session will an application be made available. Manitoba requires the applicant to approach a child and family services agency and request an invitation to a caregiver orientation. Alberta's page does not describe a mandatory information session on the linked text; it describes contact with Children and Family Services or a Delegated First Nation Agency and assignment of a worker. The Quebec linked pages do not describe an information session; they describe contacting the regional public institution for the recruitment procedure.

Attend the session the authority in the province of residence names, and treat it as the point at which the province's own steps, checks, and training are explained. Do not treat a session in one province as satisfying another province's requirement, and do not treat attendance as approval. Approval, licensing, and agreement decisions come later, after the assessment and training described in the steps that follow.

Step 3: Complete the application, checks, and documents

The application formalizes the intent to provide care and triggers the checks. The lists differ by province, and the list the worker or agency gives for the individual file governs over any summary in this guide. Alberta's application process lists an application form, a Home Study, an Intervention Record Check, a Criminal Record Check, a medical reference, personal references, an Environmental Safety Assessment, and Caregiver Pre-Service Training sessions. British Columbia's screening lists four personal references, one of which must be from a relative, a medical assessment completed by a physician, a criminal record check or review for anyone over 18 years old who will be living in the home, and a prior contact check for previous child welfare involvement. Quebec lists, as examples, references, a medical certificate, a certificate of financial solvency, and proof of no criminal record, collected for the review of the file. Manitoba's provincial home licensing form, as described by the General Authority, requires a completed criminal record and child abuse registry check for the applicant and every other adult living in the household dated within three months of the application date, an application for a prior contact check, references from four individuals related to the applicant's ability to protect, nurture, and care for children, two of whom should be from non-family members, and a consent form allowing the agency to contact a medical professional about health-related matters that could affect the ability to be a caregiver.

Eligibility wording also differs and must not be smoothed into one rule. Alberta states the fullest list on a linked page: resident of Alberta, at least 18 years old with the maximum age determined by the best interests of the child, in a stable relationship for at least 12 months prior to applying if cohabitating, physically and mentally capable of safely caring for children with no major illness or trauma in the past 12 months, with a residence separate and apart from other caregivers, and financially stable, and states that caregivers cannot have become responsible for an additional child in the past year or be currently expecting an additional child through pregnancy or adoption. Quebec states that anyone, irrespective of civil status, religion, sexual orientation, or nationality, can become a foster family, that there is no need to have studied in the health and social services field or to hold a job related to that field, and that the person can work outside the home, subject to the assessment described in Step 4. Manitoba states that any adult who is prepared to make a commitment to care for children can apply to become a caregiver, and that single persons or couples, with or without children, can apply. The British Columbia and Ontario linked pages state no eligibility list in the terms above. Confirm the eligibility condition for the province of residence on its current page before treating any condition in this step as applying to that province.

Step 4: Complete the home study or assessment under the name your province uses

The assessment is the interview and home-visit process that determines readiness, suitability, and the support a family will need, and its name is provincial. Ontario societies are required by Policy Directive CW 003-20 to use one of two homestudy tools: the SAFE homestudy, or the HEART homestudy when assessing Indigenous and non-Indigenous caregivers for Indigenous children and youth. The directive pairs each assessment tool with its training tool: if SAFE was used, PRIDE must be used for training, and if HEART was used, SPIRIT must be used, with the pair used in their entirety. HEART and SPIRIT are described as culturally appropriate alternatives developed by the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario, and as usable when deemed more culturally appropriate for the assessment and training of caregivers for Indigenous children and youth. Alberta names the step a Home Study, without using the SAFE name on the page linked in Sources. British Columbia describes in-home interviews, stating only that a social worker will conduct a number of in-home interviews to assess the home environment, parenting skills to meet the needs of a child or youth in care, and willingness and ability to collaborate with social workers, the child's family and extended family, and, where appropriate, the child's Indigenous community. Quebec describes cooperation with the public institution during its assessment of personal characteristics, interpersonal skills, ability to provide support and assistance services, and management and organizational skills, with the home also assessed. Manitoba describes a SAFE home study by a SAFE-trained social worker, using questionnaires and interviews to establish the family's strengths and identify supports that may be needed, with an opportunity to review the written results before the assessment is finalized, plus a physical inspection of the home against the safety standards in the regulation.

No interview count, questionnaire count, or homestudy duration is stated in this guide for any province, because no official page states one for this work. The number of interviews, who is interviewed, and how long the assessment takes are questions for the worker conducting it. Keep the documents requested in Step 3 current through the assessment, and expect the assessment to cover the home itself: Manitoba names bedroom use, storage space, fire prevention equipment, and emergency response procedures as matters the home inspection covers, and Alberta names an Environmental Safety Assessment as a separate step. The assessment worker, not this guide, decides what further information the file needs.

Step 5: Complete the pre-approval training your province requires

Training that must be completed before approval is the clearest example of why provincial names must not be mixed. In Ontario, Policy Directive RL 001-23 requires foster care licensees to ensure that proposed caregivers complete, prior to approval and as part of the approval process in section 121 of O. Reg. 156/18, PRIDE pre-service training or SPIRIT, and Standard First Aid, including infant and child CPR, holding a valid certification issued by a training agency approved by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and states that a licensee is prohibited from permitting a person to receive a child for temporary care unless both are complete. The directive states no hour total for PRIDE or SPIRIT, and this guide states none. In British Columbia, LINK pre-service caregiver training is required for all prospective caregivers, stated as 20 hours of online training completed at the applicant's own pace, with the Resource Worker registering the applicant. In Alberta, the page linked in Sources names Caregiver Pre-Service Training sessions, without a program name or hour total. In Quebec, the linked pages name no pre-service training program or hour total. In Manitoba, the linked pages describe support and training generally, without naming a pre-service program or hour total.

Training does not end at approval in Ontario. The same directive requires, no later than six months after the date the caregiver is approved, training on First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis cultural competency of a minimum of 4 hours, training on providing trauma-informed care of a minimum of 4 hours, and the Kujali course of 4 hours, with an exemption from the cultural competency training for a person who identifies as a First Nations, Inuk, or Métis person. Alberta states that ongoing training is required after licensing and that a learning plan is developed for each caregiver family. Ontario licensees must also record training completed and plans for ongoing training in a caregiver learning plan under section 120.1 of O. Reg. 156/18. Complete the training the province names, keep every certificate, and confirm the schedule with the licensee, agency, or worker, since the directive states its training list is not exhaustive and licensees may require further training.

Step 6: Receive approval, a licence, or an agreement, and know what follows it

Approval is a decision on the assessment and the training, and its legal form differs by province. In Ontario, approval is the licensee's decision under the section 121 process, and the pre-approval training in Step 5 must be complete before a child can be received. In Alberta, on approval the applicant is issued a home licence and assigned a Child Intervention Practitioner who provides ongoing support and training, and new homes are reassessed 6 months after they are licensed and annually thereafter. In Manitoba, all of the licensing activities must be completed before the agency decides whether to issue a licence, and the applicant can expect regular contact from a staff person of the agency that approved the licence. Decisions to deny a licence, or to suspend or not renew a licence, can be appealed under section 8(2) of The Child and Family Services Act, as can a decision to remove a child under the subsections the General Authority page cites. In Quebec, if the file meets the requirements, the applicant signs an agreement with the public institution in their region, the agreement allows them to care for a child who needs a new living environment, and the institution takes the child's or teenager's characteristics and the family's characteristics into account to ensure the best possible match. The British Columbia page linked in Sources describes the assessment process and in-home interviews and does not state the instrument that follows approval in the linked text.

Approval, a licence, or an agreement does not place a child by itself. Placement and matching are the authority's or agency's decisions, made child by child. Quebec states the matching test expressly. Alberta describes the caregiver as part of a team with the child, the child's parents and extended family, the support network, the child's Child Intervention Practitioner, and other professionals, collaborating in planning for the child and supporting contact between the child and the child's connections. British Columbia's in-home interview criteria include willingness and ability to collaborate with social workers, the child's family and extended family, and, where appropriate, the child's Indigenous community. Expect ongoing contact after approval: Alberta describes regular contact from the Child Intervention Practitioner, especially in the early days of placement, and Manitoba describes regular contact from agency staff to support the caregiver in meeting the children's needs.

Step 7: Care for the child as part of the team, and keep the approval current

Temporary care is day-to-day care within a plan the authority or agency holds. Alberta describes caregivers as providing for the day-to-day needs of the child, nurturing the child's physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs, participating in training, collaborating in planning, supporting contact with the child's connections, and learning to manage the loss and grief experienced by children in care. Manitoba describes caregivers as opening their home to meet the child or youth's day-to-day needs, physical, cultural, educational, spiritual, recreational, emotional, and physical health needs, as part of a team implementing a care plan with the agency, the biological parents, and the family's support network, with reunification as the agency's highest priority when a child comes into care. Quebec describes a family as providing a warm and caring home, safety and stability, and a point of reference for the child or young person, while cooperating with the public institution. The child's family, community, culture, and heritage connections are part of the care in every province checked: Alberta states that whenever possible a child in temporary care should live in a culturally appropriate home, and Ontario's post-approval training requirements in Step 5 are directed to that same end.

Keep the approval current by meeting the province's ongoing requirements. Alberta reassesses new homes 6 months after licensing and annually thereafter, and requires ongoing training under a learning plan. Ontario requires the further training in Step 5 within six months after approval, requires a valid Standard First Aid certification throughout the caregiver's tenure, and requires the licensee to keep the learning plan current. Manitoba's linked pages describe regular agency contact as the ongoing support mechanism; confirm the renewal steps and timing with the agency that issued the licence, since no renewal page could be verified. In Quebec, the agreement with the public institution governs the placement, including remuneration and reimbursements, and the family is represented by an association that defends the economic, social, moral, and professional interests of the families it represents and negotiates collective agreements. Report any change in the household, the home, or the ability to provide care to the worker or agency promptly, since the approval, licence, or agreement rests on the assessment as it stood when it was granted.

What this guide does not promise

No step in this guide promises a placement, a particular child, a placement length, or a particular outcome for any application. Placement depends on the children who need care, the match the authority or agency makes, and the plan for the child. No training provider is recommended. The only test that matters for training is whether the licensee, agency, or authority in the province of residence counts it toward approval, and that test should be confirmed before training is booked. No statement is made about recognition of an approval, training, or a licence from another province or from outside Canada, because no recognition page could be verified. A person approved elsewhere should ask the authority in the province of residence which parts of the earlier assessment and training it will credit, rather than assuming a transfer.

This arrangement does not change the child's legal parentage, and this guide does not set out court steps, consent rules, or what a court or tribunal will decide in any individual case. Kinship care, customary care, respite care, and adoption are related but distinct arrangements, described separately by the authorities, and this guide covers temporary care only as the authorities describe it on the linked pages. Where the care concerns an Indigenous child or youth, follow the Indigenous-led agency, Delegated First Nation Agency, Indigenous Child and Family Services Agency, or regional institution named for that community, and the HEART and SPIRIT tools where Ontario's directives make them the applicable pair.

Related guides:

• How to Start Adopting a Child in Canada — the separate, permanent adoption process ending in a court order, province by province, distinct from the temporary care described in this guide.
• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal monthly benefit for families with children under 18, including who applies and the three application routes.
• How to Start Getting Childcare Covered in Canada — fee reductions and subsidies for licensed childcare, province by province, and how renewal works.
• How to Become a Social Worker in Canada — the regulated social work route, including provincial registration, distinct from becoming a caregiver.
• How to Start Getting a Birth Certificate in Canada — how birth registration and a birth certificate work in Canada, including the registration step that comes before a certificate can be ordered.

Sources

• Government of Ontario, Policy directive — Residential Licensing 001-23: Training on the Provision of Foster Care: the section 121 approval process, the PRIDE-or-SPIRIT and Standard First Aid requirements before approval, the prohibition on receiving a child before that training is complete, and the further training required no later than six months after approval.
• Government of Ontario, Policy directive — CW 003-20: Approved tools for caregiver assessment and pre-service training, and for plan of care development: the SAFE and HEART homestudy tools, the PRIDE and SPIRIT training tools, the pairing rule, and the requirement to use each pair in its entirety.
• Government of Alberta, Become a foster caregiver — temporary care, the eligibility criteria, the application steps, licensing on approval, reassessment at 6 months and annually, and the supports listed for caregivers.
• Province of British Columbia, How Do I Become A Foster Caregiver? — the call, information session, application screening, LINK training of 20 hours, and in-home interviews.
• Gouvernement du Québec, Procedure — Foster family: the documents for file review, cooperation with the assessment, the agreement with the regional public institution, matching, and monthly remuneration without an amount stated.
• Gouvernement du Québec, Criteria for becoming a foster family — who can become a foster family, the values and skills sought, the matters the regional institution assesses, and the May 2025 adjustments to the requirements.
• Government of Manitoba, Residents Portal — Foster Care: single persons or couples applying, the daily allowance without an amount stated, medical, dental, and education costs covered, and agency support and training.
• General Authority (Manitoba), Information for Foster Parents — applying for a licence from a child and family services agency, the orientation, the provincial licensing form and its checks and references, the home inspection, the SAFE home study, and the appeal provisions cited.

Figures not stated in this guide, and where to confirm them: no PRIDE hour total or session count is stated, because neither Ontario directive states one; confirm with the children's aid society or licensee and recheck the two Ontario directives in Sources. No SAFE interview count or homestudy duration is stated, because neither Ontario directive states one; confirm with the worker conducting the assessment. No total time from first contact to approval is stated, because no official page states one; the six-month period in the Ontario training directive runs after approval and is not a total timeline. No stipend, allowance, remuneration, compensation, or rate amount is stated for any province, because the linked pages name the support without an amount; confirm in Quebec in the agreement with the public institution, and elsewhere with the agency or authority. No application or licence fee is stated, because no page states one. No numeric minimum age is stated for British Columbia, Ontario, or Quebec, and no age beyond any adult for Manitoba, because no page for those provinces states one; Alberta alone states at least 18 years old. No training name or hour total is stated for Alberta, Quebec, or Manitoba beyond the wording on the linked pages; confirm with the worker or agency. No count of British Columbia in-home interviews is stated, because the page states only a number of interviews. Recheck the pages named in Sources on the day an application is made, since provincial requirements, training, and amounts change.