Ontario parents should have some financial relief on child care costs by the end of the year, while the provincial government launches a program to add thousands of new child care spaces.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Families Minister Karina Gould made an announcement while in Toronto on Monday, alongside Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Associate Minister of Women's Social and Economic Opportunity Charmaine Williams.
Freeland said parents in Ontario will see child care fees reduced by 50 per cent on average by the end of the year. Ontario is also on track to see $10 a day child care by March of 2026.
"Cutting fees in half could save parents in Ontario about $6,000 per year per child," Freeland said. "As families here in Ontario are dealing with elevated inflation, those savings will mean real relief."
The federal and provincial governments announced plans for $10 a day child care in March. The deal included an initial investment of $10.2 billion for the first five years of the agreement and an additional commitment of at least $3 billion in the sixth year.
The provincial government has also announced increased access to licensed child care spaces by creating 53,000 new spaces by December 2026.
Factors such as demographics, socio-economic indicators, and existing licensed child care capacity will be taken into account with the creation of new spaces. The province is also launching a $213 million grant program for new and existing operators to make sure child care spaces are created for populations most in need.
"The province of Ontario's plan to expand child care spaces through our publicly funded schools, we have a plan to build for-profit and non-profit [spaces] with the announcement of today's start-up grants providing literally over $200 million directly into operators pockets, which we believe will incentivize growth," said Lecce.
A list of new child care spaces was released by the province on Monday and included municipalities such as London, St. Thomas, Stratford, Windsor, Chatham-Kent, and the counties of Lambton, Bruce, Grey, and Huron. A full list can be found here.
