Childcare wait lists soar in Ontario since start of $10-a-day program

Childcare wait lists have ballooned across Ontario since the province signed on to the national $10-a-day program as demand due to the lower fees appears to be far outpacing the creation of new spaces in many regions.

In Kawartha Lakes, children are now set to spend an average of 6.4 years waiting for licensed child care, up from an average of 3.7 years in early 2022, before Ontario joined the program.

“Many will age-out before they have access to a space,” Janine Mitchell, manager of social services, wrote in a report to council in December.

In the Region of Waterloo, there has been a 115 per cent increase in the number of children on the wait list since the $10-a-day program announcement, with 9,200 kids now in the queue.

Niagara Region has reported a 76 per cent increase in its wait list since March 2022, with spikes in demand for care for toddlers and preschoolers. The wait list for the latter age group has gone to 2,326 from 712, an increase of 227 per cent.

Ottawa's wait list has increased more than 41 per cent, and, for more than half of the families on the list, the date they needed child care has already passed.

The centralized wait lists largely involve childcare operators who are part of the national program as 92 per cent across Ontario have opted in to the $10-a-day system. Both licensed centre-based operators and licensed home daycares can be part of the federal program.

The wait list in Kawartha Lakes has grown in part due to the increased demand that has come from significantly reduced fees — they have so far been cut in half and are set to be lowered further under the national program — and partly due to a shortage of early childhood educators, Mitchell said.

Government officials have warned the province could be short 8,500 early childhood educators by 2026, the year Ontario aims to have 86,000 new spaces.