Background Little information exists on health of children with developmental disabilities (DDs) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Method The present authors linked 12 years of administrative data and compared health status, changes in health and access to health and social services between children with (n = 1877) and without (n = 5661) DDs living in the province, matched by age, sex and region of residence. Results Children with DDs were significantly more likely than children in the matched comparison group to die before the age of 17 and have a history of respiratory illness, diabetes and injury‐related hospitalizations. Children with DD also had significantly higher average number of ambulatory physician visits and higher rate of continuity of care. Conclusions Children with DDs had poorer health status than the matched comparison group. The health disparities experienced by children with DDs persisted over time. Further population‐based longitudinal research is needed in this area.