Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and every parent deserves the opportunity to build both a family and a career. For too many families in Canada, high-quality child care in their community is out of reach. Child care is not a luxury – it’s a necessity.
Last year, our government delivered $10 a day childcare to every province and territory in Canada. On Monday, March 28, Ontario’s parents got the great news that the province has come on board and signed a $13.2-billion agreement to lower the cost of child care in Ontario for children under the age of six to an average of $10 a day by September 2025.
The federal government will provide $10.2 billion to Ontario over five years, the same amount that our government had offered Ontario since negotiations on the child care plan began last year.
The agreement includes a plan to create 86,000 new child care spaces in Ontario by 2026 and provide support to the early childhood educators (ECEs,) who do the important work of caring for our youngest children by growing a strong and skilled workforce through wage improvements and greater opportunities for professional development.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women have faced job losses and reduced work hours, shouldered the majority of the additional unpaid care responsibilities at home, and continue to be on the front lines of the pandemic.
The pandemic has been called a "she-cession," with women being disproportionately impacted, highlighting the need for safe, affordable childcare. Affordable, high-quality childcare is a feminist economic policy and smart economic policy that will increase Canada’s GDP by 1.2%, allowing more women to return to the workforce.
McKinsey Global Institute estimates that boosting women’s participation in the workforce could add $150 billion to Canada’s economy by 2026.
In 1990, I almost didn’t return to work after my son was born because of the high costs of child care. Had it not been for a very supportive boss who accommodated my hours as a working mom and greatly increased my salary, I would have been forced to stay home. Today’s agreement will be transformational for our country and ensure that women can fully participate in our economy.
