Child care and social policy advocacy groups have flagged for months that the March 31 deadline to have a national child care program was unlikely to be met in every province.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the future of his predecessor’s promise of a national $10-a-day child-care program rests on talks with the provinces, as a deadline set by the Trudeau government passed on Tuesday without achieving that goal.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced the program in 2021, setting a target of March 31, 2026, to have a national child-care program in place with fees at an average of $10-a-day. The initial plan included the creation of an additional 250,000 spaces.
The pledge was a signature policy for his government, made as the country was emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns and the Liberals were trying to spur workforce participation, especially for women. The Liberals committed nearly $30-billion for the plan, which involved signing five-year deals with all the provinces and territories.
So far, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have brought their fees down to the $10-a-day benchmark, while Quebec – which has long offered a subsidized child-care program – was already there.
In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, fees have been cut by 50 per cent or more, but are not at an average of $10 a day.
Mr. Carney was asked by reporters Tuesday about the state of the program and whether he still intended to meet the $10-a-day promise.
“We are standing four-square behind the importance of affordable national daycare,” he said. “It is a shared responsibility with the provinces.”
Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia have all said that without more money from Ottawa, they will not be able to bring their fees down further, or potentially even sustain their rates.
When asked about provincial calls for more money from Ottawa to reach the $10 goal, he said negotiations with them continue.
Child-care and social policy advocacy groups have flagged for months that the March, 2026, deadline was unlikely to be met in every province.
Three sources involved in discussions about the program with both the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the federal department running it, say they’ve been told there is a live debate going on right now about how to fund it.
Ontario needs almost $2-billion to make $10-a-day child care a reality, A-G says
The sources all said the message coming from the Carney government is that it is committed to affordable child care, but it also considers the existing program expensive to sustain or expand.
The Globe is not identifying the sources as they were not authorized to disclose internal government discussions.
Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu – who is responsible for the department – did not directly respond to a question on whether the program is considered too expensive to broaden out further.
“The world is rapidly changing, and that is why we are focused on strengthening supports for Canadians right here at home,” Ms. Hajdu’s office said when asked.
“One of the core missions of the government is aimed at bringing down the costs for Canadians and helping them get ahead.”
Saskatchewan’s new $1.6-billion child-care deal with Ottawa includes funding increase
The statement said that families of more than 900,000 children had fees cut, and noted all provinces and territories have signed extensions on the original five-year deals. Alberta and Ontario only signed one-year deals and work continues on a longer-term agreement, the statement said. Ms. Hajdu’s office also said 200,000 new spaces have been announced and more are to come.
Employment and Social Development Canada has dropped the explicit $10-a-day goal from its official plan for 2026-2027.
Martha Friendly, the director of the non-profit Childcare Resource and Research Unit, said the program has made a difference in people’s lives so far.
While the Trudeau Liberals used COVID-19 as the catalyst, the geopolitical instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump ought to serve as a reason for the Carney Liberals to keep it going, she said.
“They’re so focused on the crazy international situation, because what we need is a solid economy in order to be sovereign from the United States,” she said.
“Do I think child care needs to be part of that? Yes. Do I think that they know that? I don’t know.”