A new child-care centre in St. Boniface is the latest in a string of services opened by the Manitoba Métis Federation.
The Louis Riel Child Care Centre is the eighth child-care facility the MMF has opened across the province since 2019, and there are plans to open another eight in the next five years as part of a 10-year funding partnership with the federal government, under its Métis Nation Early Learning and Child Care Accord.
While open to all families, the space will be staffed by Métis early childhood educators when it opens in September and will include a curriculum on Métis history and the Michif language.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
“They’re going to learn about buffalo hunts, they’re going to learn about the trapping, our industry and fishing, they’re going to learn about where we come from and who we are, and how rich and vibrant our communities are,” Frances Chartrand, the MMF’s minister of early learning and child care, said at the centre’s grand opening Monday morning.
“They’re going to learn about buffalo hunts, they’re going to learn about the trapping, our industry and fishing, they’re going to learn about where we come from and who we are, and how rich and vibrant our communities are,” Frances Chartrand, the MMF’s minister of early learning and child care, said at the centre’s grand opening at 561 St. Jean Baptiste Monday morning.
The 40 spots available at the centre were filled long before its planned opening, and the wait list has reached approximately 250 people. One of the future child-care centres will likely be housed in another St. Boniface building, MMF president David Chartrand said, and the federation wants to work toward incentivizing its members to consider early childhood education as a career.
“These are our taxes being returned to us, so when we look to the future, I think our goal is to be a player and a partner with both the federal and provincial government(s),” he said.
The MMF-managed spaces are part of the provincial and federal promise to create 23,000 new full-time regulated child-care spaces by March 2026.
An MMF child-care centre in The Pas is expected to open later this year.
Monday’s grand opening came just weeks after the MMF announced plans to demolish Roxy Lanes, a long-standing fixture on Henderson Highway, and build a 55-plus Métis residence on the land. A similar facility owned by the MMF in Selkirk is slated to open in the fall.
Manitoba Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning Nello Altomare applauded the MMF for investing in care for its people at all different stages of life.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
“These are our taxes being returned to us, so when we look to the future, I think our goal is to be a player and a partner with both the federal and provincial government(s),” MMF president David Chartrand said.
“We know that the early learning and child care has proven benefits for children, families and community. This is the best bang for your buck every time,” he said.
“Spend it on the little ones, you won’t have to spend it on the elders after… it says a lot about a community, it says a lot about a culture, says a lot about a people when they invest significant resources and time into their loved ones.”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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