More than 640 licensed non-profit childcare centres in Manitoba are eligible to apply for renovation expansion grants to create new spaces for infants and pre-schoolers.

The federal and provincial governments are allocating a combined $13.5 million for existing facilities to support renovation, administrative and programming costs. Centres have received $3.4 million in renovation expansion grants since 2021.

“By continuing to offer this grant, existing operators will be able to help more families access affordable child care, which supports our commitment to develop 23,000 affordable, accessible, high-quality and inclusive child-care spaces by 2026 under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement,” said Manitoba Education Minister Wayne Ewasko.

The grant will provide $30,000 per space up to a maximum of $2 million in capital grant funding per project, to increase physical space capacity. The province estimates this will result in an additional 450 spaces for children under the age of seven.

The deadline to submit an expression of interest for the 2023-24 Renovation Expansion Grant is September 15.