Ontario and the federal government have reached an agreement to prolong the national affordable child-care initiative in the province for an additional four years. However, there are no assurances of further reductions in the fees paid by parents. Ontario, along with Alberta, was one of the two provinces that had not secured longer-term agreements beyond the initial five years of the program. Extending funding until at least 2031 will provide operators and parents with a level of certainty.
Despite the extension, the program may not achieve its primary objective of reducing parent fees to an average of $10 per day. While approximately half of the provinces offer fees at that level, Ontario’s average stands at $19 per day, with a cap of $22. Under the new four-year deal with the federal government, Ontario has committed to maintaining fees at this level until June 30, 2027, leaving the future beyond that date open for discussion.
Federal Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu stated that the agreement offers stability for Ontario parents and child-care operators. She emphasized that parents in Ontario are still saving around $9,000 per child, even with the average fee being $19.
The agreement includes $12 billion from the federal government, with Ontario also set to receive a portion of an additional $5.4 billion allocated for the national program. This new funding addresses Ontario’s immediate financial challenges, according to Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra. He noted that the additional resources would sustain the current fee structure until the end of 2027, providing stability for parents and operators.
Minister Hajdu mentioned that she has been receiving feedback from parents regarding the accessibility of child care. Waitlists in certain regions of Ontario have continued to grow significantly since the inception of the national program, reflecting heightened demand. Although the province was expected to have established 86,000 affordable child-care spaces by this year, it has fallen short, with just under 60,000 spaces created.
Calandra expressed confidence that the province is working towards meeting the target, anticipating a considerable number of spaces to become available in the upcoming year, particularly with child care facilities being integrated into most new schools under construction. The financial accountability officer for Ontario estimated that the surge in demand due to lower fees could necessitate the creation of approximately 220,000 new child-care spaces.
