Child care costs in Toronto - help needed!

[inoa77]

Hi everyone,

I really need some practical info re child car cost in Toronto. My partner has been offered a job there, and we are currently trying to decide whether it is a good move. I have never been to Canada so its education system is totally foreign to me.

We have two kids, my eldest will turn 5 in July, and my son just turned 3 this month. We currently live in France, and they both attend the same public school - we pay around 300 pounds/months for both of them.

My understanding is that, should we move to Canada, my daughter would be able to start primary school next September, but my son would have to go to a pre school/kindergarden.

I read some reports about the costs of child care for pre schoolers in Toronto: am I right in assuming that it would cost us around 1,300/month at least? Also, I read that there were waiting lists, and am wondering about the waiting time to secure a place (months? years?).

Re my daughter, we would probably look at public schools, but if I understand correctly, we would have to pay for after school time - I tried to get some info about the price (and the potential waiting list) but did not find much: I assume it would cost us at least 40 dollars/day but I may be wrong on this.

On a practical side, I really don't want to find myself in the position of having to care for the kids for months, waiting for a place in a pre school while my partner is working. This idea, added to the overall estimated costs of child care is really putting us off at the moment, even though we were initially enthusiastic about this opportunity (and even though my partner's salary would be comfortable).

So: how much does care really costs for kids this age? How long are the waiting lists, and how early does one need to apply for a place?

Any input or info would be invaluable!

Are you currently working? Are you planning to work in Canada? And how come you are paying for public school in France, where public school is free?

I was a SAHM and am currently setting up a new business. I do plan to work in Canada but I would have to start from scratch, which is not an issue. You pay for before and after school care in France (and also for care on Wednesdays), unless you are on minimum wage or below, which is not our case. It's just the 'school time' that is free.

Hi, the first thing to stay is that the children go to school in the year they turn 4, running Jan-Dec. So your youngest would start in full day Junior kindergarten from Sept 2019. The costs you have for full day nursery are roughly correct, depending on whereabouts in Toronto you are. What I would say is that most families have two working parents, so wrap around care is usually pretty seamless with the majority of schools providing before and after care in the school, ours runs 7am - 6pm. Our full day fees are $30 for kindergarten and $28 for Grade 1 and after per day. As regards waiting lists, I've not come across these, you also just apply to your local school. I assume your children are fluent french speakers, which may open up some more options, as you probably know, Canada aims to have students graduate bilingual in French and English, state school options include English, french immersion and french, where the assumption is the parents also speak french and can help with homework. The catholic school system offers the same. Will you be in Downtown toronto? Let me know if you need any more help, I can point you to some resources for schools and areas if you need it.

I believe that daycare and after-school care varies greatly across the city so it is worth calling the homeschool (the school you would be in catchment for) to check before committing to renting or buying anywhere to live. I think that the current wait list for after-school care at our homeschool, is 4 or 5 years, but once the oldest is in, their siblings are in. This is a crazy area for childcare though.