Ontario could be short 220,000 child-care spaces due to $10-a-day demand: FAO

Increased demand for child-care spaces in Ontario due to the national $10-a-day program will leave the province short more than 220,000 spots under current expansion plans, the financial accountability officer said in a report.

Ontario recently announced that 92 per cent of licensed child-care operators in Ontario have opted in to the program and the province is now set to work on expansion plans, as well as a strategy to recruit and retain staff in licensed child-care settings.

The agreement with the federal government saw Ontario commit to 86,000 new child-care spaces by the end of 2026, and the government says 33,000 have already been created.

But even if that target is met, Ontario's Financial Accountability Office said in a report this week that will likely not be enough for everyone needing care.

More than 200K children could 'be left wanting': report

"The FAO estimates that by 2026, Ontario families of approximately 602,257 children under age six will wish to have access to $10-a-day child care," the report said.

"With only 375,111 $10-a-day licensed child care spaces planned, the families of 227,146 children under age six...would be left wanting but unable to access $10-a-day child care."

The FAO said its estimate is based on pre-pandemic Statistics Canada data on how many families were not accessing child care because it was too expensive or they couldn't find a space, as well as looking at how many kids are still cared for at home in Quebec, where fees are subsidized.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Ontario will implement a growth plan to ensure new spaces go to high-need areas.

"We also know that more needs to be done," Grace Lee wrote in a statement.

"That's why our deal with the federal government was contingent on $1 billion to build additional spaces across all provinces. However, we still await further details from the federal government as to how those funds can be used and when exactly they will be provided to Ontario."

Parents whose children attend a licensed child-care setting that has opted in to the program are set to receive rebates of up to 25 per cent of the fees they paid since April 1 and a further fee reduction of 50 per cent, on average, by the end of the year. Fees are set to drop to an average of $10 a day by September 2025.