A nanny and two children drawing with chalk on a sunny day outdoors.

Manitoba announces new ELCC workforce strategy 

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Earlier this month, the Manitoba government launched their new early learning and child care (ELCC) workforce strategy, Higher Wages, Good Jobs, More Child Care: Manitoba’s Early Learning and Child Care Workforce Strategy. 

Announced in tandem with a new commitment to create 6,041 child care spaces, the strategy acknowledges that in order to create more spaces, more work needs to be done to recruit, retain and recognize the ELCC workforce.

The strategy includes a new initiative encouraging educators who have left the field to return. There will be a $5,000 incentive for ECE II and IIIs who have not worked in a Manitoba licensed child care centre or licensed home-based child care setting for at least two consecutive years to return to full-time employment in a Manitoba licensed and non-profit child-care facility. 

The Staff Replacement Grants program will also be expanded to provide coverage five days a week, up from two days a week. The program reimburses licensed non-profit child care centres for the staffing costs of a substitute Child Care Assistant, enabling existing employees to attend an approved Early Childhood Education Workplace Program and increase their certification level. 

Other highlights from the strategy include the expansion or renewal of previously announced workforce initiatives such as: 

  • Funded professional development days will increase incrementally from two to five per year by 2028. 
  • Significant increases to the wage targets amounting to about $5 an hour for all ECEs and frontline staff based on certification and level and child care centre size, first announced May 2025. 
  • A two year extension on the tuition reimbursement program – which provides up to $5,000 per school year to be used for post-secondary programs leading to an ECE II or ECE III certification. 

Child Care Now is pleased to see the Manitoba government recognizing the importance of developing expansion plans in tandem with a workforce strategy. Child Care Now continues to monitor and analyze ELCC workforce policies across the country as part of the Educators Matter project.