Minnedosa daycare set for fall construction start

Construction on a new daycare facility in Minnedosa is expected to begin this fall, with plans for it to become fully operational by the end of 2027.

The timeline for the 74-space child-care facility was confirmed during a “productive” meeting with Manitoba government officials on Monday, Minnedosa Mayor Ken Cameron said.

“It’s pretty exciting news,” Cameron said Thursday. “We’re hoping that everything goes forward with what their plans are.”

He said the province’s goal is to have shovels in the ground this fall.

With the community in dire need of daycare, Cameron said he had been getting frustrated by the lack of progress on the facility.

The town has been anticipating the new daycare since the former Progressive Conservative government issued an expression of interest in developing new child-care spaces on surplus land or in surplus buildings in March 2023.

The NDP government has continued the project through the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which provides capital funding for the development and expansion of child-care centres in partnership with public school divisions.

The Town of Minnedosa sold a parcel of land for $1 to the Rolling River School Division, which will oversee the daycare, Cameron said. The facility will be located between the division’s administrative office and the elementary and high school on Armitage Avenue.

“If you have school-age kids, or you have daycare kids, it’ll all be in one location,” said RRSD Supt. Jason Cline.

He said it’s exciting to partner with the municipal and provincial governments on the build, especially when there’s a great need for daycare spaces in Minnedosa that has resulted in long waitlists for parents.

Cline expects the tender for construction to go out in the spring.

“We’ve been working towards whatever we can do to help get this going and we’re going to continue to work with them to help them,” Cameron said.

He said the update is encouraging for people who are needing child care.

“Now we can start telling people, ‘Well, we don’t have a lot of daycare right now, but give us a year, and we’ll have one,’” he said.

In the past year, Minnedosa has lost child-care spaces at a couple of licensed, privately owned daycares because workers have retired, Cameron said.

“What we’re hearing from the public is we need child care. We don’t have enough of it,” he said.

The shortage of daycare spots has impacted the town’s ability to recruit and retain nurses, doctors, laboratory staff and other health-care professionals, Cameron said.

The issue has also affected veterinary students working at the clinic and RCMP officers.

“We’ve had some of them come to town or put in for transfers, and maybe not come here because of the child-care situation,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what sector group you’re looking at, it’s tough to recruit for any without daycare because if people are going to go back to work that have kids, they need daycare, and that is a struggle, so we’re hoping this helps with that as well.”

Cameron said he’s happy the facility will create more jobs for people already living in Minnedosa and help to bring more people to the area.

The town will have no problem filling the upcoming child-care spaces, Cameron said.

“We’d always like more, but we’re going to take what we get,” Cameron said.

Through the funding agreement, Manitoba has created more than 2,600 spaces for children under seven.

Tracy Schmidt, minster of education and early childhood learning, said the new child-care facility is one of 42 projects the government is working on right now in partnership with school divisions.

“We’re very excited for the progress that we’re making, and I know that the community of Minnedosa is so looking forward to have these additional spaces come online as soon as possible,” she said.

“I am deeply passionate about making sure that every family in Manitoba that wants access to child care has that access, and I will not rest until we’re there.”

Schmidt did not release details on the cost of the facility due to privacy and confidentiality agreements, but she said the projects are largely funded by the federal government.

The Rolling River School Division was also approved for a child-care expansion in Rapid City with 55 spaces, including 40 infant and pre-school spaces and 15 proposed school-age spaces.

Schmidt said the facility in Rapid City is slated to have shovels in the ground for the fall of 2027.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com