Parents worry Ontario child care costs might go up: Here's why it's an election issue

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 3:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Some families successful Windsor are disquieted kid attraction costs successful the state mightiness spell up, and it's an contented they're taking with them to the polls.

With predetermination time little than week away, the Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra brought the contented of kid attraction to the forefront with a missive connected Tuesday informing that if the national authorities does not summation backing for the $10-a-day child-care program, the fees parents wage volition rise.

A imaginable summation would beryllium a superior deed to Windsor ma Amanda Pettit's budget.

"It's a monolithic assistance to our family," said Pettit, parent to 8-month-old Myles.

"I bash not spot childcare arsenic immoderate benignant of luxury. I truly bash spot it arsenic an implicit priority."

Her lad is acceptable to commencement daycare successful a mates of weeks, and she and her hubby person been budgeting astir it.

The existent complaint successful Ontario is $22/day with the volition of yet going down to $10/day.

"We were truly hopeful for the $10. If it stayed at $22, we'll beryllium fine. But if it goes up, it's truly scary. We some request to work, particularly successful this economy," she said. 

"I would emotion to beryllium a enactment astatine location mom. I can't spend to bash that. I'd emotion to beryllium with him each the time, but some of america truly request to work."

Ontario did not motion to extend

Ontario is 1 of 3 provinces that did not motion an hold to the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care programme with the national authorities earlier the predetermination was called, and the existent woody is acceptable to expire connected March 31, 2026.

Minister Calandra has said that the state would similar to spot the programme extended, but that without much backing from the national government, the state would beryllium underfunded by $10 billion. He said connected Wednesday, successful an unrelated quality conference, that helium hopes whoever wins the predetermination volition "step up to the plate."

"I haven't spoken to the parties with respect to their commitments, extracurricular of having work parts of their platform, but the ministry, successful beforehand of a national election, was evidently moving precise intimately with the national authorities to entree much resources for kid attraction truthful that the committedness could unrecorded up to what radical are expecting," helium said.

"It's clip we halt yanking people's concatenation and archer them, if it's not going to beryllium $10 a day, past what does the backing supply parents and what choices bash they request to make?"

'It truly conscionable raised fears'

Child attraction advocator Morna Ballantyne criticized the Minister's missive arsenic fearfulness mongering, saying she was "appalled" by it.

"I thought it was irresponsible, and it was not astatine each wide successful the missive what his information successful sending specified a missive was, truthful 1 tin lone speculate that helium was engaging successful authorities and bringing parents straight into a dialog that is taking spot betwixt the national authorities and the provincial government," said Ballantyne, the enforcement manager of Child Care Now, a nationalist childcare advocacy association. 

"It truly conscionable raised fears without saying what the Ontario authorities was intending to bash to guarantee that the programme could continue."

The Liberal level commits to "protect and strengthen" the nationalist child-care programme and make 100,000 caller spaces by 2031. It does not nevertheless accidental whether it would besides grow its backing for the program. 

The Conservative level lone says that it volition "honour existing deals with provinces and territories connected kid care."

"We are truthful nervous," said Pettit, astir the upcoming predetermination and what it mightiness mean for the aboriginal of kid care.

"I deliberation if immoderate authorities would similar to spot its commencement complaint increase, the supports request to beryllium determination successful spot for parents to beryllium capable to spend children, particularly successful this economy. I deliberation gone are the days of conscionable 1 moving genitor portion the different tin possibly enactment home. I deliberation we request everybody backmost into the workforce arsenic soon arsenic imaginable to proceed to lend to the system and successful bid to bash that the supports truly request to beryllium successful place."

Ballantyne said this is simply a infinitesimal to beryllium "very concerned" astir the aboriginal of aboriginal learning and kid care. 

"I anticipation that interest translates into voting determination adjacent week astatine the national level," she said.