Manitoba Auditor General says province needs a detailed and focused child care growth plan
On March 19th, Manitoba’s Auditor General released his report on the province’s plans and processes to meet the commitments made in the Manitoba-Canada Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) Agreement.
The 2021 Manitoba-Canada CWELCC Agreement set a target of 23,000 new spaces by March 31 2026. As of November 2025 approximately half of these spaces – over 11,500 – are operational or in development. The audit report projects that the province will not reach its target without substantial new space commitments.
Province’s action plan lacks defined objectives and strategies
The audit found that:
- The Department lacks critical information on child care demand: the system is lacking critical information on child care demand, waitlists are not maintained or monitored, and there is no information on closures of existing spaces.
- The Department has no comprehensive plan to meet 23,000 new spaces and demand assessment needs improvement: while the Department undertook initiatives to increase the number of child care spaces, it did not develop a comprehensive, implementation focused action plan to guide these efforts.
- Inclusion supports are in place, but there are barriers to access: there are challenges to determine eligibility for the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) and there are inadequate processes to monitor equitable access.
The auditor concluded that the province’s action plan should “clearly define objectives and milestones, allocate resources, identify key stakeholders and accountabilities, establish timelines and execution strategies, and assess risks that could affect delivery”.
The Manitoba Auditor General made seven recommendations aimed at strengthening planning, data and oversight in order to support Manitoba’s progress in improving child care access and inclusion. The Auditor recommends the Department:
- Obtain improved data (such as waitlist numbers) to identify areas with high demand and integrate this information into child care space planning.
- Strengthen its Child Care Demand Model to plan for new and long-term child care spaces by area through incorporating: a. Waitlist information. b. Space closures. c. Space creation targets. d. Historical information.
- Develop a comprehensive action plan that addresses barriers and improves equity of access in all Manitoba communities.
- Improve its tracking of staffing levels needed to keep pace with space expansion by obtaining data to monitor child care staffing retention, employee satisfaction, and reasons for departures.
- Improve its internal analytical capacity by developing forecasting tools and processes that identify child care demand and workforce pressures to inform management’s assessment of risks associated with meeting current child care commitments and support future planning and resource allocation.
- Collect and analyze information on applicants who do not complete the eligibility process or who are approved but do not proceed with ISP supports.
- Establish clear actions and timelines for verifying that expenses were eligible for the EDI grant, and addressing any ineligible expenses identified.
Concerns and recommendations applicable to all provinces and territories
Child Care Now supports the AG’s recommendation to develop a comprehensive roadmap that identifies timelines and strategies required to monitor progress against space expansion targets and inclusion.
Child Care Now agrees with the Auditor General’s concerns and recommendations for a comprehensive implementation plan, established timelines and strategies, and adequate data to monitor progress against targets. These system-level gaps apply to the implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) Agreements in all provinces and territories.
Read the Manitoba Auditor General’s full report here
Read the Manitoba Auditor General’s Media Release here