Future of affordable child-care in Ontario hangs in the balance

Ontario says it needs a long-term deal in place by September to help sustain the program

Published Jun 01, 2026  •  Last updated 35 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

An auditor general report said Ontario's child-care program had 'systemic issues' Photo by Getty Images

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The federally funded child-care program is in trouble in Ontario and needs more money if it is to be sustained, the province says.

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Ontario secured a one-year extension to its child-care agreement with the federal government at the end of 2025. It had been set to expire on March 31. The program lowers child-care fees to $19 a day in Ontario, a stepping stone toward the goal of $10-a-day care. But no new money has been earmarked for Ontario child care in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s spring budget update, and the plan allows the capital fund that pays for expanding child-care spaces to expire next year.

While most provinces have long-term child-care deals, two do not: Alberta and Ontario. Under the extension, federal funding is only guaranteed until the end of next March, as the two sides have been unable to hammer out a longer agreement.

And the clock is ticking: Ontario says it needs a deal in place by September so providers can plan ahead.

“Without a revised federal funding commitment, the long-term success of the … program is at risk,” a spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra told the CBC.

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Province not meeting child-care targets: Report

The program already has “systemic issues,” according to a report. Ontario’s Auditor General Shelley Spence said in a report last October that the province was not on track to meet its child-care targets, with fewer enrolments from lower-income families and insufficient tracking of available child-care spaces.

By December 2024, only 36,000 spaces had been created over five years, short of the government’s target of 48,000. Compared to 2019, child-care enrolment decreased by 31% among lower-income families receiving subsidies. The program reduced child-care costs and increased the demand for spaces, making it harder for families to find a spot, the auditor general said. She also found that, as of December 2023, 27% of program spaces had no children enrolled because they were “vacant or inoperational.” The report also said a website designed to help families find child-care spaces will not be ready until 2029.

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“We found that the Ministry has not sufficiently monitored the number of unutilized spaces at provincial and regional levels to identify and address systemic issues leading to underutilized spaces and to better ensure the efficient use of available CWELCC (Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care) spaces to support program objectives,” Spence wrote.

Fees would have to rise: AG

Reaching provincial targets would mean increasing the number of children who receive full subsidies to 57,000 from 41,000 in 2022-23. But with fewer families qualifying, parents may have to pay more for the program to meet its commitments, Spence reported.

Even with a new deal, there would be an estimated $1.95-billion shortfall for the program in 2026-27.

“Without additional federal and/or provincial funding, the Ministry estimated that parent fees would need to increase,” Spence wrote in the report.

Ontario more expensive: Minister

Calandra addressed the findings at the time, explaining that it costs more to run child care in Ontario than it does in jurisdictions such as Manitoba and Saskatchewan because of higher rents and wages in cities such as Toronto. He also said the ministry would speed up work on the website.

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