Hi there.
i'm getting ready to move to Canada (BC) and it looks as if i'll be coming as a single parent. My kids are 8 & 9, and i'm a nurse so will be working horriblw hours. Can anyone let me know what's available and estimate costs? i'd like to be as prepared as possible!
thanks.

The only solution that I'm aware of for someone in your situation is a live-in nanny. I've never employed one, and I don't know how much it would cost to do so.

Daycare is usually six to six, M-F. For your kids you are looking at before and after school care plus pro-D days and early finishes, of which there are plenty and are difficult to schedule around as a single working parent. Full day costs for that age-group are $25 -$35 a day; before and after school care is around $280 + per month per child outside of major urban centres. Your only truly workable option is a live-in nanny, as Judy said. You will have to employ her in most live-in arrangements, pay all her deductions to the government (CPP, EI IT etc.) plus the employer portions you are additionally responsible for. Nannies are not cheap - think around $2,000 a month up depending on where you are. In the more affluent parts of Vancouver you are also expected to provide a car, holidays and paid days off.

As an aside, while I am sure you will know this, if you are leaving their father behind, unless you have full parental responsibility in the UK and he has no access arrangements, the bio Dad has to provide you with written permission to bring the children into Canada.

In Canada public (meaning government-funded) schools do not provide activities like sports and extra music lessons. Those activities are organised in the neighbourhood, through community associations, leisure centres, etc. The reason that a nanny gets the use of a car is not just so that she can go galavanting around town, but also so that she can drive the children to hockey, soccer, music (or whatever) after school.