'I feel helpless': Ukrainian newcomers denied subsidized daycare in Quebec due to status

When Oleksandra Zhovtiuk chose to settle in Quebec after fleeing her war-torn city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, she said she chose the French province for one reason: its renowned low-cost government daycares.

“Here, I was told they have these $8 daycares per day, so it’s like the best option for Canada,” said Zhovtiuk, a single mother who lives in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough. 

With three children, ages two, four and seven, she thought, “OK, this I might [be able to] afford,” she said. 

After arriving in Quebec in July, Zhovtiuk quickly applied for spots for her two youngest at two local subsidized daycares and got accepted at both.