After top court ruling, Quebec to prioritize long-term residents for subsidized daycare

The Quebec government will be prioritizing families who “live and work in Quebec permanently” over asylum seekers for subsidized spots in daycares, according to the province’s families minister. 

In a media statement published on Wednesday, Catherine Blouin said Canadian citizens, permanent residents and people staying in Quebec mainly to work and who hold a closed work permit will be prioritized. 

“Asylum seekers, temporary foreign workers holding an open work permit, and international students will, for their part, be eligible for any remaining spots,” Blouin said in a statement. 

The decision follows a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada last March, which declared the exclusion of asylum seekers’ children from early childhood centres (CPEs) — including those whose parents lack a work permit — to be unconstitutional.

Canada’s highest court struck down a 2018 directive from the Philippe Couillard government that had blocked asylum seekers from accessing subsidized child care. The Supreme Court ruled that the policy violated the right to equality, legally compelling the provincial government to revise its regulations.

Blouin said that the decision was made “responsibly” to first meet the needs of families established in the province. 

Québec Solidaire criticizes move

The second opposition party, Québec Solidaire (QS), denounced the decision, arguing that it creates a hierarchy among families.

“This is a purely opportunistic electoral tactic to mask this government’s disastrous record regarding the funding of our CPE network,” Andrés Fontecilla, the QS immigration critic, said in a statement.

Alexandre Leduc, the party’s critic for families, echoed those concerns. 

“The CAQ should be ashamed of playing politics on the backs of asylum seekers. Is blocking toddlers’ access to daycare really the kind of Quebec we want to build?” Leduc asked. 

He called on the government to resolve the child-care shortage by properly funding the network, improving working conditions, and delivering the spots promised years ago.

The Families Ministry noted that since the launch of the Grand chantier pour les familles in 2021 — an initiative to increase the number of available subsidized daycare spots — more than 37,000 subsidized spots have been created across the province, with another 10,587 currently in development. 

According to the government’s latest available data, 30,688 children were on the waiting list for early childhood educational services as of May 31, 2025. The province estimates that there are about 5,160 children of asylum seekers aged five or under currently residing in Quebec.

The most recent budget also earmarks the conversion of 5,000 unsubsidized spots into subsidized ones. 

Lack of spots is the problem, daycare association says

In a statement sent to Radio-Canada, Geneviève Blanchard — co-executive director of the Association québécoise des CPE (AQCPE) — said she understands the frustration of Quebec families who have been waiting years for a daycare spot and said this “legitimate frustration” is the direct result of a systemic shortage.

She said that deciding which children deserve a spot is not the solution to the shortage.

“As long as there is a shortage of spaces, there will be inequality, regardless of who is prioritized,” Blanchard said.

“Quebec should not have to make this choice. A child who has been waiting for two years deserves a spot. A child who has arrived in a new country, often under difficult conditions, needs one just as much. Both situations are real, and neither should be used to justify prioritizing one over the other.”