Opening a childcare business is a rewarding opportunity with lots of potential. You get to serve families in your area, nurture children through their early stages of development, and pay other hardworking childcare professionals the wages they deserve.
To learn how to open a daycare in Canada, read further. We share the most important things to consider when starting your new business to increase your chances of success.
1. Understand Canadian Daycare Regulations
To operate a childcare business legally, daycare owners must follow specific licensing requirements. The Canada Health Act outlines these requirements including Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) licenses and insurance.
Adhering to regulations protects you from legal conflict, holds you and your employees accountable for providing safe and supportive childcare, and ensures trust with parents and authorities.
Licenses and permits vary depending on your location, including:
- Federal
- Provincial
- Municipal
You can look into which requirements apply to your business by filling out the form on BizPal. Type in your location and select your industry from the drop-down options, then research the results.
2. Obtain Your Canadian Childcare Licenses and Permits
Each Canadian province has its own governing body that ensures compliance with childcare licenses and permits. In every location, obtaining the required license can take time. Prepare to begin the application process before you want to officially open your business.
The licensure process entails:
- Training and certifications
- Application submission
- Providing detailed business plans
- Paying required application fees
- Undergoing home/facility inspections
- Waiting for approval
Typically, childcare business owners are required to have several types of permits and licenses. They include the following.
Childcare Business License
Most Canadian municipalities require daycare businesses to be registered. If you offer a service for commercial purposes, you need to register your business. To do this, you need to fill out applications, pay the necessary fees, and provide proof of compliance.
Active Childcare License
To find which types of licensure and regulations you must abide by, you first need to know what type of childcare business you’ll operate. Generally, all childcare services require a license.
However, there are a few exceptions:
- Relatives who provide free childcare
- Individual nannies and babysitters hired directly by the family to provide care in the child’s home
- Children’s camps that provide care for kids ages 4 and older
- Private schools that provide care for children ages 4 and older
Unlicensed childcare homes can legally provide care to up to 5 children if the providers’ children present are under 4 years old and there are no more than 3 children younger than 48 months old. However, unlicensed home care providers are required to provide written notice to parents about the lack of licensure.
Health and Safety Permits
In addition to business and childcare licenses, many childcare centers must obtain health and safety permits. This means your business agrees to operate with safe practices regarding food handling, emergency preparedness, fire safety, sanitation protocols, and facility occupancy.
3. Establish a Daycare Business Plan
A childcare business plan is your roadmap to success, presenting operational and financial milestones to complete. It helps you realize your goals, connect with ideal customers, fulfill your marketing needs, and more.
To get started, brainstorm these main points:
- What are the mission statements and core values of your business?
- Who are your ideal customers? (Suburban families, busy city-dwellers, etc.)
- What marketing strategies will reach your target audience?
- Which unique selling points make your daycare stand out from the rest?
To learn more about creating a daycare business strategy, read: How to Write a Childcare Business Plan.
4. Organize Your Daycare Finances
Another important thing to consider when starting a daycare in Canada is your business finances.
Research the startup costs for childcare in your area or hire a financial planner to help guide you. Expenses include location costs, daycare equipment, licensing fees and renewals, staffing, utilities, supplies, renovations, and more.
If you need help funding your childcare operation, look into the available options. There are small business loans, investors, savings incentives, and government grants available which you may qualify for.
5. Set Up Your Daycare Location
The physical location of your daycare is a place to provide comfort, safety, play, and learning opportunities for your students. Whether you operate your daycare out of your home or at a designated facility, here are a few factors to prioritize to ensure the best environment.
- Activity zones: Set up age-appropriate activity zones indoors and outdoors. Areas should be stimulating enough for learning and engagement, but not too distracting or chaotic that they overwhelm kids.
- Comfort: Have a way to adjust lighting, temperature, ventilation, and the amount of open space in your daycare setting. Children have a hard time focusing and cooperating if they’re uncomfortable.
- Safety and sanitation: Set up your space to abide by safety standards. Consider storage, entry/exit points, accessibility, furniture, and learning supplies. Store cleaning chemicals away from child access.
If your province requires you to pass a daycare inspection to become licensed, follow all the guidelines laid out in your training to ensure you pass.
6. Hire Daycare Employees
Even if you plan to operate as a solo provider at first, you might need to hire childcare staff as you grow your business. Recruiting employees means you’ll need to advertise job openings, interview qualified applicants, conduct background checks, and train your new hires.
After hiring, establish further training and development opportunities for employees to encourage staff retention and growth. Canadian organizations like CCCF (Canadian Child Care Federation) have plenty of professional development resources for daycares and childcare centers that you can refer to.
7. Create a Daycare Curriculum
A well-developed childcare curriculum and activity plan are important if you want to provide the most enriching daycare experience possible. Create a thoughtful, well-rounded learning curriculum for your students. It not only ensures kids learn essential ECE skills but also proves your professionalism to families.
Childcare Activities and Lessons
Your daycare’s curriculum, activities, and lesson plans depend on what age and developmental needs your students have.
- Infants and toddlers need plenty of sensory exploration, adult supervision, social-emotional learning, and language exposure.
- Preschoolers need lots of activities that build cognitive skills, creativity, social/behavioral skills, and school readiness.
Start thinking about how your daycare’s daily schedule will go. You can adjust it as needed, but aim to set up a balanced daily routine so kids feel at ease.
Additionally, remember to balance play, learning, nourishment, and rest. Kids need indoor and outdoor play, group activities and alone time, naps, patience, plenty of structure, and of course— snacks.
8. Sign Up for a Canada Childcare Management Software
Starting a daycare business in Canada can be a fulfilling, meaningful career. But you need to plan extensively, obtain (and maintain) licensure, follow all the guidelines, and set yourself up for success.
Start your childcare business on the right track with the help of a childcare management software like Daily Connect. Powerful yet easy-to-use features equip you and your staff to stay organized, communicate with parents, enable online billing, monitor child learning outcomes, and more.
Begin your professional childcare career with confidence and support! To get started, download the Daily Connect app today for a free trial.
