Child care in Canada

Primary responsibility for early learning, preschool and child care in Canada rests with the 13 provincial and territorial governments. Since 1984, there have been a number of unsuccessful attempts at establishing a national child care system. By 2019 in Canada, about 60% of children who were 0 to 5 years-old participated in day care arrangements. Of these, 52% were in formal day care settings and 26% were cared for by a relative in an informal setting. About 40% of parents had difficulty finding child care arrangements.^[1] As of 2016, 30% of child care operations in Canada were for-profit, which includes large single-owner corporate chains. Some federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal public funding of child care is limited to not-for-profit child care operations.

In the spring of 2021, the federal government announced the creation of a national child-care system, with $30 billion over five years in federal funds to "cut child-care fees to an average of $10 per day" across Canada.^[2] All ten provinces and three territories have signed onto this national child care program.^[3] As governments work to create new child care centres by 2023 under the program, early childhood education workers are fleeing the profession in "droves". Factors leading thousands to seek employment elsewhere included the added stress combined with lack of appreciation for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as low-wages in child care jobs that also lack pensions, paid sick days, and other benefits.^[4]