How to Open a Daycare Centre in Newfoundland and Labrador

The short answer

Contact the regional Early Learning and Child Development Division of the Department of Education, then apply for a facility licence before you open. Newfoundland and Labrador runs its child care system through the Department of Education, with a certification ladder for staff, ratios, and maximum group sizes set by age range, and a voluntary $10-a-day Operating Grant Program that lowers parent fees in participating centres. This guide covers the centre model only — a facility for children, not a home daycare — and only Newfoundland and Labrador's mechanics. It does not re-cover the Manitoba centre guide's rules, which are a different province's system.

1. Contact the regional Early Learning and Child Development Division

Start by contacting the regional Early Learning and Child Development Division of the Department of Education where the centre would be located, according to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Centre Based Services. A child care centre operates part-time, up to four hours a day, or full-time, more than four hours a day, on the same page. Centres not meeting the exemption requirements must be licensed before operating, on the same page. Do not sign a lease, start renovations, or enrol children until you know which regional office you are dealing with and what it expects — the regional office is your first point of contact for the whole application, and it will tell you which documents and inspections apply to your site.

2. Prepare the program proposal and facility plans

The licence application documentation includes a Child Care Program Proposal prepared by the proposed Administrator or an Administrator-qualified person, according to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Policy and Standards Manual, Appendix B. The proposal sets out what the centre will offer, to whom, and how it will be run — write it with the Administrator who will actually run the centre, not as an afterthought.

Centre facility plans must be professionally drawn to scale by a professional architect or engineer, with a stamp, on the same page. Budget for this: it is not a sketch on graph paper, and it is the document the municipal and provincial approvals are based on. The application documentation also includes proof of insurance, on the same page: each service must carry at least $2 million in commercial general liability coverage, on the same page. Arrange the insurance before you apply.

3. Get municipal and provincial approvals

Facility plans need municipal and provincial approval, including an occupancy permit, according to the Policy and Standards Manual. Digital Government and Service NL assesses compliance with the Fire Protection Services Act and the Food Premises Act, on the same page. The occupancy permit is the gate: you cannot open until it is issued, and the inspections behind it can surface premises changes — exits, fire separation, kitchen, and washroom fixtures, outdoor play surfacing — that take weeks to fix. Book the inspections early and keep the stamped plans, the approvals, and the occupancy permit in the licence file. The manual does not state a minimum indoor space per child in square metres in the pages opened for this guide, so no figure is printed here — check with the regional office before you sign a lease.

4. Meet the certification rules

Staff qualifications are set in the legislation and they are the hardest part of the licence to get right, because they apply to every homeroom, not just the Administrator. Providers in regulated services must hold Child Care Services Certification at the level required by legislation and in the age ranges assigned, according to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Centre Based Services. One caregiver with at least Level I certification, usually a one-year post-secondary certificate, must be assigned to every homeroom, and the Administrator must have at least Level II certification, usually a two-year post-secondary diploma, on the same page.

The levels, from the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador, Certification Booklet, are: Trainee, for a person with no recognized post-secondary early childhood education credential, who may need an orientation course and acceptance into an early childhood education program; Level One, a provincially approved early childhood education certificate, normally one year; Level Two, an early childhood education diploma, normally two years; Level Three, a three-year early childhood education diploma, or a two-year diploma plus a one-year post-diploma specialization, or a certificate plus a related university degree; and Level Four, a university degree in early childhood education, or a two-year early childhood education certificate plus a recognized university degree. Certification minima apply per homeroom — for example, Level I for an infant homeroom — and no Trainee is permitted with infants, according to the Policy and Standards Manual. Build the roster with the per-homeroom minima in mind from the start.

5. Staff to the ratios

Ratios and maximum group sizes are set by age range in the Policy and Standards Manual, and they decide how many children you can take in each room. The age ranges are: Infant, birth to 2 years; Toddler, 1 year 6 months to 3 years; Preschool, 2 years 9 months to 5 years 9 months, not attending school; Pre-kindergarten, 3 years 8 months to 5 years 9 months, attending a pre-kindergarten program; and School, 4 years 8 months to 13 years, attending school, according to the Policy and Standards Manual, Appendix A. The ratios and maximum group sizes are: Infant 1 to 3, maximum 6; Infant and Toddler 1 to 3, maximum 6; Toddler 1 to 5, maximum 10; Toddler 1 to 7, maximum 14, where no children are 2 or younger and no more than five children are 3 or younger; Preschool 1 to 8, maximum 16; Preschool and School 1 to 8, maximum 16; Pre-kindergarten 1 to 10, maximum 20; and School 1 to 15, maximum 30, on the same page. Do not guess the ratio for a mixed room; work it out from the manual or ask the regional office.

6. Apply for the Operating Grant Program

Fees are where the Canada-Wide agreement shows up. The Operating Grant Program is a key component of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, according to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Operating Grant Program. Effective January 1, 2023, participating regulated services must lower rates to $10 a day for infant, toddler, preschool, and full-day school-age children, on the same page. Participation is voluntary, and all regulated centres are eligible to apply, on the same page.

A centre that does not participate may charge its own rates, and parents may apply for the Child Care Subsidy Program, which is income-tested and covers all of the parent fee for eligible families using regulated services, according to Childcare Resource and Research Unit, ECEC in Canada 2024/2025: Newfoundland and Labrador. Your job as the operator is to know which program each family is in, to charge the right fee, and to keep the enrolment records that support it.

What the licence costs

The opened pages do not state a licence fee for a Newfoundland and Labrador child care centre, so this guide states none. A licence is valid for a maximum of three years. The only money figures in the opened pages are the $2 million minimum commercial general liability coverage and the $10-a-day rate for participating centres under the Operating Grant Program. Check the fee with the regional Early Learning and Child Development Division when you apply.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened pages do not state a licence fee for a child care centre, so this guide states none. The opened pages do not state a minimum indoor space per child in square metres, so this guide states no figure. The opened pages do not state a fixed processing time for a licence application, so this guide states none.

Related guides:

• How to Open a Daycare Centre in Nova Scotia — Nova Scotia's centre licensing steps, for comparison with Newfoundland and Labrador's.
• How to Open a Daycare Centre in Ontario — Ontario's centre licensing steps, another province's system.
• How to Open a Daycare Centre in Saskatchewan — Saskatchewan's centre licensing steps, another province's system.
• How to Open a Daycare Centre in Alberta — Alberta's centre licensing steps, another province's system.
• How to Start a Daycare in Canada — the national overview of opening a daycare, for the country-wide picture.
• How to Start a Construction Company in Newfoundland and Labrador — the construction company guide for the same province, if you are building or renovating the premises yourself.

Renewing the licence and keeping it valid

A licence is valid for a maximum of three years, and it is not transferable or assignable. To renew, the licensee must apply in writing to a Manager, in the form prescribed by the Minister, before the licence expires, and the required documentation must be submitted in full before a licence is issued. Timing matters: where an application to renew, including the required documentation, is submitted at least 60 days before the licence expires, the existing licence is considered to be valid until the Manager decides on the renewal application. Where the application and documentation are not received at least 60 days before the licence expires, the Manager monitoring the service can consider the licence no longer valid. Put the renewal date on the calendar at least 60 days ahead, not in the final month.

Sources

• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Centre Based Services — part-time and full-time centre definitions, the licensing requirement, contact with the regional Early Learning and Child Development Division, and the Level I per-homeroom and Level II Administrator certification rules.
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Policy and Standards Manual, Appendix A — the age ranges, the ratios, and maximum group sizes by age range, and the certification minima per homeroom.
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Child Care Policy and Standards Manual, Appendix B — the Child Care Program Proposal, facility plans professionally drawn to scale by an architect or engineer, municipal, and provincial approval including an occupancy permit, the $2 million commercial general liability coverage, and Digital Government and Service NL assessment of fire and food premises compliance.
• Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador, Certification Booklet — the Trainee, Level One, Level Two, Level Three, and Level Four certification levels.
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Operating Grant Program — the Operating Grant Program as a component of the Canada-Wide agreement, the $10-a-day rate from January 1, 2023, voluntary participation, and eligibility for all regulated centres.
• Childcare Resource and Research Unit, ECEC in Canada 2024/2025: Newfoundland and Labrador — the Child Care Subsidy Program as income-tested, covering all of the parent fee for eligible families using regulated services.