By Connor McDowell | Brandon Sun
The Manitoba Town of Minnedosa’s struggle with daycare shortages has begun to repel healthcare professionals from the community, a councillor and staff have told the Sun.
Coun. Grant Butler put a call out for an “aggressive” plan to address shortages in the community at a council meeting in late June. When contacted by the Sun, he said that he has heard from nurses, doctors and the community’s economic development team that recruitment is hindered by daycare shortages.
“A nurse that was coming from out of country to Minnedosa was having trouble getting daycare, and so she was actually looking somewhere else,” Butler said. “Even one of our doctors said they went for other training in Winnipeg, and they were thinking about not coming back to Minnedosa, even though they had a home here, because they couldn’t find daycare.”
Families have chosen to live and work in other communities due to the daycare shortages, Minnedosa’s city manager Danniele Carriere wrote in an email to the Sun. The community has put out requests to meet with provincial staff as a result.
The issue comes two years after the former Progressive Conservative government announced the creation of a 74-space day care for Minnedosa. The NDP government has now taken up the project, which spans 2,600 child care spaces across the province for children under the age of seven.
Details are scant about the progress of the Minnedosa facility as of early July. The Province of Manitoba was unable to provide an update when reached by email, but a spokesperson said the department looks forward to next steps.
“We’re just in limbo,” Butler said.
The last update about the province’s project came in November 2024, and a new request for a meeting had not received a response from the Minister of Education about a month after the letter, which was dated June 3. The Sun’s request for a comment from the minister was not granted.
Recruitment can sometimes depend on child care and it is well known in the province, said Kevin Carter, regional lead in Human Resources at Prairie Mountain Health.
In an email to the Sun, Carter said that the availability of childcare spaces can be a significant factor.
”This can be particularly challenging in rural areas,” he said.
Butler said that the rural area does not have much margin for error, like being short on essential services.
“Getting medical staff is hard enough,” he said. “We need to do something.”
The Town of Minnedosa has seen the daycare issue flare up in recent years. In 2024, council received a letter from a mother who complained of the problem and pushed for change. It was not the first time council had heard from its community members.
“I am writing to you to address an issue that has become a significant concern in Minnedosa — the lack of childcare spaces,” wrote Carissa Parachoniak in her letter. “It wasn’t until I was pregnant (three) years ago that I realized the scarcity of childcare in the area.
“Families are at the point of considering relocating from town as they are needing to drive 20-40 minutes just to drop their child off at a childcare facility.”
Parachoniak called for the city to drum up a solution in order to protect Minnedosa. She wrote that the area is wonderful, but that it needs the vital service to thrive.
Coun. Butler expressed urgency when he called for the need to get everyone together in his council report. He later said it was his hope to cut through slow processes.
“I think we should have everybody in one room at the same time, and let’s talk this out. And let’s get her done,” he said. “Government runs at a very slow pace, and we need it now.
“We should have had this two years ago, and it’s just not helping our community.”
Carter said PMH is supportive of planning in Minnedosa and has been engaged in discussions about boosting day care spaces.
The issue poses a risk to the future of the town, said Butler. If people are beginning to be turned away from the rural community of roughly 3,000, that adds weight to the seriousness of the problem.
