Demand in Ontario expected to surge once deal reached over $10/day child care

Demand for a childcare spot is expected to surge once Ontario reaches a deal with the federal government on $10-per-day childcare in the province.

The federal Liberals have been following through on their promise to provide the low-cost care through the country, already inking deals with seven other provinces and one territory. The five-year plan is expected to cost $30-billion.

Discussions are currently ongoing with the Ontario government. There is a lot of pressure on both sides to make it happen, but it does not guarantee every parent will be able to get an affordable spot right away.

Sources in the Ford government confirm they are expecting a huge increase in families wanting childcare when the cost goes down, because so many can’t afford the current rates.

David Levy, the father of a four-year-old, couldn’t afford to have his daughter in childcare when she was a baby. His daughter is now in school and their family pays for before- and after- school care at a cost of $750 a month.

Levy said the cost of childcare is a factor his family has considered when deciding whether they should have another child.

“People are kind of being faced with a decision where they’d like to have a child or children but they literally can’t afford to,” said Levy. “When you factor in the all the other things, the cost of living in general that’s gone up significantly.”

“For a long time, I was in a position where I needed to get a job to be able to afford childcare but I needed childcare in order to get a job,” he added. “The high cost of everything puts people in an impossible situation.”

Modelling by University of Toronto economist Gordon Cleveland concludes Ontario will need to increase childcare capacity by about 200,000 new spaces if fees are cut by 50 per cent, which the federal plan calls for by the end of 2022.

If fees are reduced to $10 a day, which the federal plan expects by 2025/26, capacity will need to increase by 300,000 spaces. Those additional spaces will also require the hiring of significantly more staff.

Carolyn Ferns with the Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare said some programs have already had to close due to a lack of staffing.

“One of the reasons that our organization and other organizations, municipalities, chambers of commerce are all pushing so hard for the Ford government to sign to the federal agreement is because we know signing the agreement is just step one,” added Ferns. “There’s a huge amount of work that is going to have to go on to make childcare spaces more affordable, ensure decent work and pay for early childhood educators and expand on public and nonprofit childcare programs.”

“Getting from where we are now which is a market-based mess to a publicly funded childcare system is a huge piece of work. It’s why we think the province needs to come to the table and be collaborative,” said Ferns.

Simon Landry, father to an 18-month-old, said his family waited almost two years on a list for childcare before getting a spot. It now costs them $1650 per month.

“There definitely aren’t enough spaces. I think it will increase the demand and I hope it makes childcare something that is valued and the people who take care of our kids get better working conditions,” said Landry.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said earlier this week during Question Period that a deal is on the horizon, but the government wants one that is flexible and sustainable beyond the initial five-year plan.