Welcome to the forum! I am originally from BC (Victoria area), but I've been in Ontario for 8 years now. I know that there are different rules and procedures in BC than in Ontario, so I can't really comment on becoming licensed. In Ontario I haven't found it necessary and have had no problem doing it privately, but you will have to look into how it works in your area. I was under the impression that daycare providers had to be licensed in BC? I could be wrong...it's been a long time since I lived there and I didn't provide daycare there (well, I did for a while, but it was only one child, so more like babysitting or nannying).