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There is鈥�鈥痶o show that children who participate in high quality early learning and childcare programs are better prepared for school and for life 鈥� from kindergarten right up through graduation and on into their adult lives. Children develop foundational skills linked to thinking, language, and well-being that have been identified as the key to success in today鈥檚 rapidly changing world.鈥�听

颁补苍补诲补鈥檚 multi-billion-dollar investment in childcare 鈥� Progress made so far听听

Early learning and high-quality childcare are crucial first steps not just for the child, the family, and the community, but for Canada as a whole as it navigates its way into the future. Three years ago, the federal government announced the multi-billion-dollar鈥�, with an aim to reduce child-care costs to an average of $10 per day for all Canadians by 2025.听听听

听Each province and territory, except Quebec (where $10 a day childcare already exists), agreed to put in place at least a 50鈥痯er鈥痗ent (average) parent fee reduction by the end of 2022, with further commitments to lower fees to an average of $10 a day by 2025-26. Most provinces and territories are now in the process of implementing to support the costs associated with expanding child care.听

The overall goal of the federal program was to ensure that many more parents had access to child care, and child care centres wouldn鈥檛 rely as much on parent fees to cover all of their costs. The reality has not yet matched the goal. Staff shortage and an increased demand for spaces has exposed considerable gaps, both in the plan and potentially in the true cost to ensure success.听听

According to 62% of parents with children under five who are not currently in child care, report they are unable to find available care, an increase from 53% in 2019.听听

鈥�The lack of daycare spaces and before and after spaces is absolutely a crisis in [this town]. Families are putting their children on waitlists the day their children are born and waitlists are over 2 years. Parents, even in November, are still calling the school office in tears as there are still no before and after-school care spaces available in any type of care situation.鈥�听

Elementary principal, Southwestern Ontario, 麻豆AV 2023-24 Annual Ontario School Survey听

Source: CBC News

Source: Measuring Matters: Assessing 颁补苍补诲补鈥檚 progress toward $10-a-day child care, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2023

What鈥檚 happening in Ontario?听

According to new data from 麻豆AV鈥檚 2023-24 Annual Ontario School Survey, while 81% of elementary schools offer childcare or before/after school programs, only 33% have childcare for children under 4-years-old. In the schools with childcare, 41% of principals agree or strongly agree that teachers and the on-site child care providers work together to build alignment between the school day and child care programming; however, 34% disagree or strongly disagree. The data represent responses from 1,030 of Ontario鈥檚 publicly funded schools, from all regions of the province.听听

In Ontario, recruitment and retention of registered early childhood educators (ECEs) 鈥� who are essential to the success of ELCC programs 鈥� has become a major issue. New graduates are not moving into licensed care right after graduation, and many trained ECEs are moving on to work in other sectors after as little as 5 years. are one of the main issues driving the retention and recruitment problem.听听

Source:听Knowing Our Numbers: A Provincial Study with a Local Lens on the Early Childhood 麻豆AV Workforce in Ontario, 2024.

Ontario has鈥�鈥痑 timeline for a revamped funding formula under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, which the province says will begin to address concerns from child care operators about rising expenses such as staffing, rent, and supplies. The new funding model will use a . According to the province, further details coming soon.听听

To be effective, the new funding formula will have to take into account a range of challenges, including child care cost structures, staff shortages, worker retention, and how to support rapid growth.听听

Budget 2024鈥檚 鈥楾he Best Start for Every Child鈥� 鈥� A step closer to $10 a day child care听

Earlier this year three seemed to have brought Canada closer to the goal of accessible $10 a day child care across the country. Among the details in the announcement:听听

• A new $1 billion federal childcare expansion loan program.听
• $60 million in low-cost loans and grants for public and non-profit child care providers.听
• An听 to support an increased number of qualified early childhood educators.听

signals a recognition by the federal government that more needs to be done to ning and child care so that it is available to the thousands of families currently unable to access it.听听

It also signals a recognition that access to child care has an effect not just on children, but on society as a whole. 听听