Provinces leading on child care as federal cash begins to flow

Regulated child care spaces are up by almost 150,000 since 2014 with almost half of new spots in Ontario.

Thestar.com
May 9, 2018
Laurie Monsebraaten

Ontario leads the country in the growth of regulated child care with almost half of about 150,000 new spaces created between 2014 and 2016, according to the latest national snapshot of early childhood education and care in Canada.

It brings the number of regulated child care spaces for kids under age 12 in Canada to about 1.4 million, enough to serve about 27 per cent of youngsters, said the report by the Childcare Resource and Research Unit released Wednesday.

But coverage varies widely across the country from just over 8 per cent in Saskatchewan to 55 per cent in Quebec. Ontario has licensed spots for about 21 per cent of children up to age 12, according to the report. However Ontario has enough licensed spots in child care centres for more than 29 per cent of children under age 5.

“The Ontario data reflects the province’s commitment to increase spaces before 2016 (when it announced plans to create another 100,000 spots) and shows policy and money matter,” said Martha Friendly of the Toronto-based research unit, which has been tracking national trends since 1992.

Provinces spent almost $4.6 billion in 2015-16 on regulated child care, with spending in Quebec accounting for more than half of that despite representing less than a quarter of the national population, according to the report.

Child care grew in every province and territory, with Ontario creating 48 per cent of new spaces and Quebec accounting for 41 per cent of the growth, said Friendly.

“Not only are there are more spaces across the country, but there were encouraging policy changes, such as increased staff training requirements and more long-term planning,” Friendly said.

“It indicates there was interest in the provinces before the federal government got back into child care and that we can expect to see further growth now that Ottawa has re-engaged,” she said.

Ottawa signed a national framework agreement with the provinces in 2017 and recently completed bilateral funding deals with all the provinces except Quebec as part of 10-year, $7 billion federal commitment.

National child care advocates are also encouraged by the report.

“It shows provinces and territories are anxious to do something about the child care crisis and are responding to the demands of parents with young children for more and better child care,” said Morna Ballantyne of Child Care Now.

“It confirms there is a real appetite on the part of the provinces to move forward and that the federal government needs to respond even more than they have to provide the assistance through money,” she added.

Ballantyne and others note federal funding is just half of what the previous Liberal government under Paul Martin was planning to spend more than a decade ago and falls far short of what is needed to address today’s soaring parent fees and serious shortage of spaces.

Median parent fees are rising faster than inflation in most Canadian cities outside Quebec with fees in Toronto topping $1,212 a month for a preschooler in 2017, according to the report.

Three of the provinces -- British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario -- have embraced a universal approach to care that recognizes all parents with young children, regardless of income, need access to quality child care, Ballantyne said.

“It’s time for the federal government to also embrace universality,” she said.

Ottawa’s funding is focused on helping vulnerable and high-risk children and families and is expected to create about 40,000 new spots for low- and moderate-income families over the next three years. The 2017 budget promised a national data strategy which should include information about who is using child care and the quality of the services, Friendly said.