Childcare in Toronto: waitlists, the $22 cap and the $10-a-day promise

The price of daycare in Toronto has dropped a long way. The queue for a spot hasn't.

The short version

• Most licensed daycares in Toronto are part of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system (CWELCC), which caps fees at $22 a day for children under six [1].
• The promised $10-a-day average hasn't arrived in Ontario. A one-year extension of the federal deal keeps the average at about $19 a day [3][4].
• Every centre has a waitlist. Get on several as early as pregnancy; the city's subsidy list accepts applications from then [5].
• Toronto's fee subsidy is open to families who live in Toronto and work or study, and new arrivals can apply without a Canadian tax return [5].
• Temporary residents only qualify for the Canada Child Benefit after 18 months in Canada with a valid permit in the 19th month [7].

How the $22 cap works

CWELCC is a federal–provincial deal. Ottawa pays the provinces, the provinces pass the money to licensed providers, and providers cut parent fees. In Ontario that happened in stages [1]:

Three things to know before you go hunting:

1. It's only for children under six. A child who turns six can stay in the program until 30 June if they're in a licensed preschool, kindergarten or family age group, or licensed home child care [1].
2. You don't apply for the reduction. It's automatic, but only if the provider is enrolled in CWELCC [1]. Licensed providers have to say in their parent handbook whether they are. If they're not, you pay the full private fee.
3. The cap is per day, all in. At the City of Toronto's own centres, $22 a day covers infants, toddlers and preschoolers, with no extra charges, and you pay for statutory holidays too [2].

At $22 a day, five days a week, you're looking at roughly $5,500 to $5,800 a year for a full-time place in 2026, depending on the number of working days. That's a fraction of what Toronto parents paid before 2022.

So where's the $10-a-day childcare?

When the federal government signed these deals, the headline goal was an average of $10 a day by March 2026. Ontario didn't get there.

In late 2025 Ontario's Education Minister warned that fees could rise on 1 April 2026 without a new agreement, and pointed to a funding shortfall [3]. Ontario then signed a one-year extension. Reporting on the deal says it keeps the provincial average at about $19 a day over the next year and doesn't take fees down to $10 [4]. In January 2026 the headline news was that Ontario fees would not drop that year [10].

What that means for you: budget on the $22 cap, not the $10 promise. If a lower fee arrives, great. Check the Ontario government's child care pages for anything new before you sign a contract, because the extension runs only about a year.

The real problem: getting a spot

Cheaper fees brought more families into the system, and the number of spaces and early childhood educators hasn't kept up. Ontario's auditor general has warned the province needs many more educators [3]. In practice, infant rooms are the hardest to get into, and families commonly put their names down at a long list of centres.

How Toronto's waitlists work

There are two routes, depending on whether you want a subsidy [6]:

• You need help with costs: fill in the city's Child Care Fee Subsidy application, or call 311. One application puts you on the subsidy waitlist and on the waitlists for any City-run Toronto Early Learning and Child Care Services (TELCCS) centres you pick.
• You'll pay the full fee: register on the TELCCS waitlist form, and contact non-city centres directly. Most community, non-profit and private centres run their own lists.

Step by step for a new arrival

1. Apply before you need care. The city takes subsidy applications as soon as you know you're pregnant [5]. If you're already in Toronto and expecting, don't wait.
2. Shortlist centres near home and near work. Use Ontario's "Find child care near you" search and check each provider's safety record, which the province publishes [8].
3. Confirm each one is in CWELCC. Ask for the parent handbook.
4. Get on every list you'd accept. Keep a spreadsheet with dates and contact names.
5. Call back every couple of months. Centres fill places when families move, and a polite follow-up keeps you front of mind.
6. Line up a stopgap: licensed home child care, a nanny share or a parent working flexibly.

Home daycare and other options

If you can't get a centre place, there are alternatives.

Unlicensed caregivers are legal in Ontario but aren't inspected the way licensed ones are, and there are limits on how many children they can look after. The province publishes guidance on what to ask, and you can report concerns to the Ministry of Education [8].

The good news: school starts at four

Ontario Junior Kindergarten is free, full-day and open to children who turn four in that calendar year. That's earlier than most Australian states. For many families, the daycare years are shorter than they'd be back home, though you'll still need before and after school care.

Subsidies and family payments

Toronto's Child Care Fee Subsidy

The city subsidy helps pay for licensed care for children up to 12 years old [5]. To be eligible [5]:

• your family lives in Toronto or is moving there
• each parent or guardian works, studies or plans to study (or a parent or child has extra support needs)
• each parent has filed income tax for the latest year, although new immigrants who arrived this year can apply without it

The page doesn't spell out immigration status rules, so ask when you apply. The subsidy has its own waitlist. When you reach the top, a caseworker meets you, and you get a set time to find a place [5]. The city's online calculator estimates what you'd pay.

The Canada Child Benefit

The CCB is a tax-free monthly payment for children under 18, and it's means-tested. Temporary residents can get it, but only once they've lived in Canada for the previous 18 months and hold a valid permit in the 19th month [7]. You also need to be a Canadian tax resident. Most families on a two-year working holiday permit won't qualify before they leave. Families on longer work permits, or who become permanent residents, should apply as soon as they're eligible.

The Australian angle

Australian payments don't follow you. Child Care Subsidy only pays for approved care in Australia, and Family Tax Benefit generally stops after a short period overseas. Tell Services Australia when you leave so you don't build up a debt.

Canada and Australia have no Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, so make sure babies and toddlers are on your private health cover until they're covered by OHIP [9]. If your baby is born in Toronto, register them for Australian citizenship by descent before applying for their first Australian passport.

Daycare in Toronto runs on Canadian time: snowsuits, boots and spare mittens go in every day from November. Label everything.

For tips on which centres move their lists fastest, join Cooee Canada, our Facebook group for Australians in Canada. Plenty of Aussie parents have done the waitlist shuffle.

Sources

1. Canada–Ontario early years and child care agreement – Government of Ontario
2. Daily public fees, Toronto Early Learning and Child Care Services – City of Toronto
3. Ontario child care deal set to expire – Global News (The Canadian Press), October 2025
4. Ontario has reached a one-year extension on affordable child care – Toronto Life
5. Child care fee subsidy – City of Toronto
6. How to apply for a TELCCS centre or Toronto Home Child Care – City of Toronto
7. Canada Child Benefit: who can apply – Canada Revenue Agency
8. Find and pay for child care – Government of Ontario
9. Canada travel advice – Smartraveller
10. Child care fees won't be going down for Ontario parents this year – CTV News, January 2026

Keep reading

• Schools in Toronto: public boards, French immersion and private
• Cost of living in Toronto vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Income tax in Ontario: your first Canadian tax return
• Babies born overseas: Australian citizenship by descent