How many Toronto daycares take infants?

384 of the 1,100 licensed centres in the City of Toronto’s September 28, 2026 data have infant spaces, for 4,412 infant spaces in total. Licensed home child care is not included in that count, so some home providers also accept babies.

Does one application cover every city-run daycare?

It covers the TELCCS programs you choose. The City says its fee subsidy application places you on the subsidy waitlist and on the waitlists of the TELCCS programs you select. Families paying full fee register through the TELCCS waitlist registration instead. Non-City centres keep their own lists.

For parents · Toronto, Ontario

Toronto infant daycare: where the 4,412 infant spaces are, by ward

North York photograph by Harman Tatla / Unsplash

Only 384 of Toronto’s 1,100 licensed centres take babies under 18 months. Here is where those rooms are, and how to get on the right lists.

By DaycareOnUpdated September 29, 20266 min read

In Toronto the hard part is the infant room, not the fee. City data from September 28, 2026 lists 1,100 licensed centres, but only 384 have infant spaces, and 4,412 infant spaces make up about 5% of all licensed spaces. If your baby will start before 18 months, build your list around infant rooms across two or three wards, not one neighbourhood.

384 of Toronto’s 1,100 licensed centres have an infant room. 290 of those rooms hold exactly ten babies.

Licensed infant spaces by Toronto ward, City of Toronto open data, September 28, 2026. Select a ward to search its infant rooms on DaycareOn.

Ward	Centres with an infant room	Infant spaces
Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York	28 of 46	337
Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth	24 of 59	269
Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood	17 of 40	222
Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence	18 of 55	216
Ward 19, Beaches-East York	19 of 61	212
Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul’s	17 of 50	200
Ward 15, Don Valley West	14 of 48	196
Ward 21, Scarborough Centre	16 of 39	192
Ward 7, Humber River-Black Creek	16 of 35	190
Ward 6, York Centre	17 of 44	186
Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park	15 of 59	186
Ward 5, York South-Weston	17 of 35	186
Ward 16, Don Valley East	16 of 46	182
Ward 3, Etobicoke-Lakeshore	15 of 64	170
Ward 1, Etobicoke North	13 of 31	170
Ward 17, Don Valley North	14 of 48	166
Ward 13, Toronto Centre	15 of 30	157
Ward 9, Davenport	14 of 38	149
Ward 11, University-Rosedale	14 of 42	145
Ward 18, Willowdale	12 of 37	139
Ward 22, Scarborough-Agincourt	13 of 39	136
Ward 25, Scarborough-Rouge Park	12 of 34	122
Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre	12 of 49	122
Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest	10 of 40	106
Ward 23, Scarborough North	6 of 31	56

Start with the infant room, not the neighbourhood

Two of every three Toronto centres cannot take a baby under 18 months. The City lists 1,100 licensed centres with 87,121 spaces; 384 of them have infant spaces, and those add up to 4,412. Toddler rooms hold 13,325 spaces and preschool rooms 27,253, so the list gets much wider once your child is older.

So what: a list of the five centres nearest your home can easily contain one or two infant rooms. Filter for infant care first, then look at location. If your start date is after 18 months, check the toddler room instead, because many more centres have one.

Source: City of Toronto Open Data: Licensed Child Care Centres

Most Toronto infant rooms hold ten babies

290 of the 384 infant rooms are licensed for exactly ten infants. Ontario’s regulation sets a maximum infant group of ten with three staff, so a typical room is one group. A few centres run two or three groups, up to 30 spaces.

So what: a room of ten does not open many places a year. Spaces free up mainly when babies move up to the toddler room. On a tour, ask how many children are due to move up in the months around your start date. That answer tells you more than a place on a list.

Source: City of Toronto Open Data: Licensed Child Care Centres

Source: Ontario child care centre licensing manual: ratios and group size

City-run centres are the most infant-heavy group

33 of the 39 centres the City of Toronto operates have infant rooms, a far higher share than the rest of the city. These are Toronto Early Learning & Child Care Services (TELCCS) programs, and they keep their own lists.

The City describes two routes. Families who need help with cost apply through the Child Care Fee Subsidy application or 311; that one application puts them on the subsidy waitlist and on the waitlists of the TELCCS programs they choose. Families paying full fee use the TELCCS waitlist registration. The City says there is a subsidy waitlist and you can apply as soon as you are expecting.

Other centres, about 1,060 of them, keep separate lists. Contact each one you want, and record what they told you.

Source: City of Toronto Open Data: Licensed Child Care Centres

Source: City of Toronto: TELCCS waitlist registration

Source: City of Toronto: Child Care Fee Subsidy

Where infant spaces sit by ward

Infant spaces are spread unevenly. Spadina-Fort York has 337 across 28 centres; Scarborough North has 56 across 6. Most wards fall between 120 and 220.

Use the table at the top as a search map, not a ranking. More spaces do not mean shorter waits, because downtown wards also have more families competing for them, and the City data does not count babies per ward. Pick your home ward, your work ward, and one ward on the commute between them. That usually triples the number of infant rooms you can realistically use.

Source: City of Toronto Open Data: Licensed Child Care Centres

The CWELCC fee cap applies at almost every infant room

961 of Toronto’s 1,100 centres are enrolled in CWELCC, including 365 of the 384 with infant rooms. In Ontario, CWELCC fees for children under six are capped at $22 a day, and the province reports an average of $19 a day.

The 139 centres outside CWELCC are mostly commercial operators. Their fees are set by the centre, so ask for the daily or monthly infant fee in writing before you tour. Fee subsidy is separate from CWELCC: 733 centres have a subsidy agreement with the City.

Source: City of Toronto Open Data: Licensed Child Care Centres

Source: Ontario: Canada-Ontario Early Years and Child Care Agreement

Source: City of Toronto: Child Care Fee Subsidy

What to do this week

An hour of setup now saves months of guessing later.

Pick three wards: home, work, and one on the commute. Open each from the table above to see its infant rooms.
If cost is a concern, apply for fee subsidy now, even before birth, and choose the TELCCS programs you want on that application. If you will pay full fee, use the TELCCS waitlist registration.
Contact every other infant room on your list. Give your child’s birth date, desired start date, and days needed.
Ask each centre: how many infants are expected to move up to the toddler room near our start date, and how do you want us to confirm we are still interested?
Record each list, date, and reply in one tracker so you can follow up on the schedule each centre sets.

Source: City of Toronto: TELCCS waitlist registration

Source: City of Toronto: Child Care Fee Subsidy

FAQ

How many Toronto daycares take infants?: 384 of the 1,100 licensed centres in the City of Toronto’s September 28, 2026 data have infant spaces, for 4,412 infant spaces in total. Licensed home child care is not included in that count, so some home providers also accept babies.
Does one application cover every city-run daycare?: It covers the TELCCS programs you choose. The City says its fee subsidy application places you on the subsidy waitlist and on the waitlists of the TELCCS programs you select. Families paying full fee register through the TELCCS waitlist registration instead. Non-City centres keep their own lists.