Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning and Child Care
All families in Canada should have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live. That is why we are building a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system with provinces, territories and Indigenous partners.
Affordable care
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To make child care more affordable, we:
- reduced fees by at least 50% on average by the end of 2022
- are working towards bringing fees down to $10-a-day on average
We are working with provinces and territories to make meaningful progress towards a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system that works for families.
We are working with provinces and territories to make meaningful progress towards a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system that works for families.
Find affordable child care options in your province or territory:
Savings
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Dark purple represents provinces/territories with average fees of $10 a day or less for regulated child care: Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Light purple represents provinces/territories with average fee reductions of 50% or more for regulated child care: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
Average annual savings for regulated/licensed child care per child under the Canada-wide early learning and child care system in:
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $3,900
- Prince Edward Island: $4,800
- Nova Scotia: Discussions are ongoing with Nova Scotia to determine the current average daily fee and associated savings per child
- New Brunswick: $6,000
- Quebec achieved average fees of less than $10-a-day prior to the creation of the Canada-wide early learning and child care system
- Ontario: $7,000
- Manitoba: $3,400
- Saskatchewan: $5,900
- Alberta: $7,600
- British Columbia: $5,500
- Yukon achieved $10-a-day prior to the creation of the Canada-wide early learning and child care system. Federal funding helps to support Yukon's universal child care program, providing ongoing child care cost savings
- Northwest Territories: $8,900
- Nunavut: $7,900
Working together
In 2021, the Government of Canada committed to investing $27 billion in child care over five years, to working with provinces and territories to bring down fees and to creating more high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive child care spaces.
Between July 2021 and March 2022, we reached Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements with all 13 provinces and territories, including an asymmetrical agreement with the Government of Quebec.
Since then, the Government of Canada signed five-year extension agreements (from fiscal year 2026 to 2027 to fiscal year 2030 to 2031) with 11 provinces and territories, ensuring predictable federal support for early learning. Additionally, Ontario and Alberta signed one-year extensions to the Canada-wide agreements (from fiscal year 2026 to 2027). By investing an additional $27 billion over 5 years, which includes a 3% funding increase every year for 4 years, we are building on the progress made to create new spaces and grow the early childhood educator workforce. Together we are protecting a vital social program that Canadians rely on.
We are working directly with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners to advance the shared vision that all Indigenous children should have the opportunity to experience high-quality, culturally strong early learning and child care. We have strengthened relationships with over 65 Indigenous partners to advance the goals of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework as part of the Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
Access to care
As of December 2025, provinces and territories have announced measures to create more than 200,000 new child care spaces. Our goal is to create 250,000 new affordable spaces by March 2026, a 27% increase in the number of regulated spaces since 2021.
Inclusion will make sure every child, including children with disabilities, Indigenous children, and official language minorities, has access to affordable, high quality child care.
Our aim is to work to build a child care system that is community-based, designed from the start as inclusive. The goal is to give every Canadian child a great start in life.
Benefits for families across Canada
High-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care is important for the future of children. Access to child care also promotes greater gender equality by allowing more parents, particularly mothers, to participate in the workforce and achieve greater economic security. It also improves and grows the female-dominated early childhood educator workforce.
Affordable, high-quality child care will:
- grow our economy
- allow more women to enter the workforce
- help give every child in Canada access to a great start in life
Text description of figure 3: Benefits of early childhood educations programs
Children who regularly participate in early childhood education programs:
- have higher graduation rates
- have improved work habits and grades
- are excited about learning
- develop strong social skills
- make gains in reading and math
- make better decisions
Data and information
As part of accountability to Canadians, sharing progress of the early learning and child care system is essential. Publicly available data on economic results such as labour force participation rate, Consumer Price Index of child care services and key metrics such as affordability, space creation and the ELCC workforce results will help us measure progress of the early learning and child care system, and identify areas for improvement and inform future policy decisions. For more information, visit Progress and impact of Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care.
The Early Learning and Child Care Information Hub is an interactive tool that provides information on early learning and child care in Canada related to high quality care, accessibility, affordability, and inclusivity. Indicators, data and research from a variety of sources are available for stakeholders and Canadians.
Testimonials
“Single moms, single dads, they need more support. These kinds of programs will give us the quality of life that Canada promises to everyone. I know I pay one amount a month and I don’t have to worry about the logistics in the middle.”
– Adriana, parent of a child at Alex House in Surrey, BC
“Having on-site child care options for health care providers is critical. Healers need healing too, and having access to child care is one of many ways to help mitigate burnout and improve wellness.”
–Dr. Thompson, Chief Medical Officer and emergency room physician at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, MB
“If affordable child care were not available to us, I would most likely be the one who would need to stay home with our little one due to making significantly less than my husband.”
– Nicole, parent of a child at the Andrew Fleck Childcare Centre in Ottawa, ON
“Having affordable day care makes a huge difference for us. We’re able to go to work every day, thrive in our careers and I feel like I’m able to be a better parent cause I have a safe place for my kids to go to every day.”
– Destiny, parent of children at Seven Oaks Hospital Child Care Centre in Winnipeg, MB
“It’s really important to us, it gives us financial stability. I always imagined that it would cost thousands of dollars to send my child to day care. The rate of $22 per day helps us a lot. Not only is it affordable, but it’s also good quality.”
– Simon, parent of a child at the Andrew Fleck Childcare Centre in Ottawa, ON
“$10-a-day day care changes everything for moms because it allows them to consider going back to work more easily. This program has changed everything.”
– Edith, parent of a child at The Centre for Child Development in Langley, BC
Visit our Stories and Testimonials page for more!
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Benefits to help with the costs of raising children, including children with disabilities. Employment Insurance benefits such as maternity, parental and caregiving benefits and leave.
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