Toronto 
Ontario parents will soon be eligible for subsidized daycare as part of the $13.2 billion agreement signed between the Ford and Trudeau governments.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
The federal government will invest $13.2 billion over six years to deliver subsidized childcare for children under 6 years. Ford administration plans to reduce child care fees through four steps of reduction to an average of $10 a day per child five years old and younger by September 2025.
Highlights:
- All children five years old and younger in participating licensed child care centres will see their fees reduced, up to 25 per cent, to a minimum of $12 per day.
- Parent rebates, retroactive to April 1, will begin in May after licensed centres and agencies are enrolled in the new system.
- In December 2022, fees will be reduced by 50 per cent.
- Further fee reductions will happen in September 2024, and a final reduction to an average of $10-a-day child care by September 2025.
How the rebates will work:
The province has provided some examples of how the rebates will work. The news release says:
Example 1: “Yasmin lives in York Region and has two children. She currently pays $72/day in child care fees for her 18 month-old son Jacob (toddler age group), and $31/day for her 5 year-old daughter Isobel. If her child care centre enrols in the program by December 31, her fees for Jacob and Isobel will be reduced by 25 per cent to $54.00 and $23.25. For 2022, she will get a refund of $3,528 in fees for Jacob and $1,519 for Isobel, retroactive to April 1, 2022.”
Example 2: “Andrew lives in Sudbury and currently pays $31/day in child care fees for his 18 month-old daughter Renee (toddler age group), and $11/day for his 5 year-old son Germain. If his child care centre enrols in the program by December 31, his fees for Renee will be reduced by 25 per cent to $23.25. Fees for Germain will remain the same. For 2022, he will get a refund of $1,519 in fees for Renee, retroactive to April 1, 2022.”
Example 3: “Charmaine lives in Durham and has two children. She currently pays $52/day in child care fees for her 18 month-old son Franklin (toddler age group), and $25/day for her 5 year-old daughter Simone. If her child care centre enrols in the program by December 31, her fees for Franklin and Simone will be reduced by 25 per cent to $39.00 and $18.75. For 2022, she will get a refund of $2,548 in fees for Franklin and $1,225 for Simone, retroactive to April 1, 2022.”
Example 4: “Sameer lives in Halton and currently pays $63/day in child care fees for his 18 month-old daughter Tina (toddler age group), and $27/day for his 5 year-old son Amar. If his child care centre enrols in the program by December 31, his fees will be reduced by 25 per cent to $47.25 and $20.25. For 2022, he will get a refund of $3,087 in fees for Tina and $1,323 for Amar, retroactive to April 1, 2022.”
Ontario will create 86,000 more licensed child care spaces as part of the deal. This includes 5,000 licensed child care spaces created since 2019. Through the agreement, Ontario will recruit new early childhood educators and will provide stable compensation for all Registered Early Childhood Educators working in licensed child care, including those providing child care for children six to 12 years old. The province is investing $395 million to ensure childhood educators for the 6-12 age group are paid the same as those for the 0-5 age group as the federal program does not extend support to workers or children age 6-12.
According to the news release, the province will work with municipalities to enroll over 5,000 licensed child care centres and home child care agencies in the new program between now and September 1.
In addition, Ontario will be investing $21.6 billion over the course of the federal agreement in full-day kindergarten and $2 billion a year in early years education and child care.
Ontario had 289,000 child care spaces for children five years old and younger in 2019. The province is working to increase child care spaces by 86,000 by the end of 2026. There are more than 5,500 child care centres, 139 licensed home child care agencies and around 464,000 licensed spaces in Ontario.
