Licensed Infant Care in Toronto, ON

Infant Care in Toronto

Toronto is home to 856 licensed childcare locations — 831 group centres and 25 licensed home daycares — making it one of the largest regulated childcare markets in Canada. Every single provider in MapleCub's Toronto dataset participates in CWELCC, the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement, which has been steadily reducing fees toward the federal $10-a-day target. If you're looking for a Montessori program like Angus Valley Montessori or Beach Hill Montessori, a bilingual option such as Les Merveilles Du Monde or Ma Premiere Ecole, or a neighbourhood centre like Liberty Kids or Distillery District Early Learning Centre, the breadth of choice is significant. This guide explains how Ontario's licensing system works, what CWELCC means for your fees, and how to narrow down your search in a city this size.

What to know about childcare in Toronto

How licensing works in Ontario

All 856 Toronto locations listed on MapleCub are licensed by the Ministry of Education (Ontario) under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. Licensing means the operator has met regulated requirements for staff-to-child ratios, educator qualifications, space standards, and health and safety protocols. Licences are publicly searchable through the province, and MapleCub pulls from the same provincial open data. A licence is a floor, not a ceiling — programmes vary widely in philosophy and quality beyond what the licence itself measures — but it is a meaningful baseline that unlawful or informal arrangements do not meet.

What CWELCC means for Toronto families

All 856 providers in this dataset participate in CWELCC. Under the federal-provincial agreement, Ontario operators who opted in received fee reduction funding in exchange for lowering parent fees. Actual fees differ by operator and age group, but the trend since 2022 has been downward. To confirm a centre's current daily or monthly fee, contact them directly — fees are not published in the provincial open dataset.

Centres vs. licensed home daycares

The Toronto dataset includes 831 group centres and 25 licensed family home daycares. Group centres typically serve larger cohorts of children across age rooms (infant, toddler, preschool, school-age), employ multiple registered early childhood educators (RECEs), and often have longer operating hours suited to full-time working parents. Licensed home daycares are run by a caregiver in their home under agency oversight — they tend to offer smaller group sizes and a family-like atmosphere, which some parents prefer especially for infants and toddlers.

A note on age and capacity data for Toronto

Ontario's provincial open dataset does not publish per-centre capacity or age-group breakdowns, so MapleCub cannot display those figures for Toronto listings. This is a data limitation, not a reflection on the centres themselves. When you shortlist providers, ask directly: What is your licensed capacity? Do you have space in the age group I need? Is there a waitlist, and how long is it?

Questions to ask on a tour

Beyond availability, consider asking: How long have your RECEs been with the centre? What is your approach to outdoor time and active play? How do you communicate with parents day-to-day? What happens if my child is sick — what is your exclusion policy? Are you currently participating in CWELCC, and what is the current monthly fee for my child's age group? Can I see your most recent Ministry inspection report?

Using MapleCub to search Toronto

Toronto spans a wide geography. Use MapleCub's map view or neighbourhood filter to focus on areas close to home or your commute. You can filter by centre type (group centre vs. home daycare) and by subsidy participation. Providers like Kinder College Early Learning Centre, Kids Connect Daycare, Petite Luminaries Childcare, and Lullaboo Nursery and Childcare Center each appear in different parts of the city, so narrowing by location first will make your shortlist manageable.