Finding a centre is rarely the hard part. Getting a space is. If you are moving with a young child, or expecting one, this is the piece of the search worth starting earliest — often before you have chosen a neighbourhood.
Across Toronto and the surrounding regions, licensed infant spaces are the scarcest category by a wide margin, and waits are commonly measured in many months rather than weeks. Many families apply while still expecting. If your move depends on securing care, join waitlists in the areas you are considering before you commit to one of them — a list place costs nothing to hold and you can withdraw at any time.
Each municipality runs its own locator and, in most cases, its own centralised waitlist. These are the authoritative sources — spaces and fees change constantly, so search them directly rather than relying on any list.
Five arrangements, with real differences in cost, oversight and availability. Licensed home child care through an agency is the one most families do not know exists.
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Fees, subsidy thresholds and programme participation change regularly and vary by centre and age group. Every figure should be confirmed with the individual centre and with your municipality before you plan around it.
Licensed care is organised by age, with staffing ratios set in regulation. The younger the child, the tighter the ratio, the higher the cost and the scarcer the space.
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General information only. Licensing, fees, subsidies and waitlist practice are set by the province and each municipality and change regularly — confirm everything with the municipality and the individual centre. Nothing here is a representation that a space will be available at any address.