Hamilton mom Shruti Bangera would be all for the Liberal government’s national child-care program — if only she could take advantage of it.
Over a year ago, Bangera put her 15-month-old son Aarin on at least 10 daycare waitlists, including at centres within a five-minute walk of her West Mountain home. But he has yet to get in anywhere, she said.
“It’s a disaster,” Bangera said in an interview.
“I am in a community where I have two or three daycares [close by] and I don’t get a spot? I feel so betrayed.”
The lack of spaces “is a serious issue” the major political parties need to look into, Bangera said.
“There are families like mine who’ve been waiting to get child care and have to compromise so much.”
Ottawa launched the child-care program in 2021 to subsidize child care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister at the time, promised parents would pay no more than $10 a day and 250,000 new spaces would be created by 2026.
While five provinces and all three territories have reached the $10-a-day mark this year, the remaining provinces, including Ontario, have not. They have reduced fees by 50 per cent or more, according to the federal website.
Ontario parents save on average up to $10,440 per child, the government said. Fees are currently capped at $22 a day.
The lower cost has sparked a surge in demand for child care, experts previously told CBC News. The industry has also been hindered by the federal program’s complexity, inflation and a shortage of early childhood educators.
In his final days in office, Trudeau signed agreements with 11 provinces and territories, including Ontario, extending the program until 2031 for a total of $36.8 billion. He said it has resulted in 150,000 new spaces across the country and the extra cash will create more.
‘It’s a lifesaver’
Matthew Bryane said finding a spot for his son, Eden, was challenging in Brantford, Ont. But just before his wife’s maternity leave was over, and approaching Eden’s first birthday, they got into a licensed centre.
Two years later, the lower fees, totalling about $600 a month, have been “a lifesaver,” Bryane told CBC Hamilton.
“It has given us so much financial flexibility where we don’t have to worry about one bill or another over child care.”
He and his wife have been able to focus on their careers, while Eden has “flourished and developed” in preschool, he said.
Bangera, who is still waiting for a spot, said she’s looked into centres not participating in the national program as those waits tend to be shorter, but the fees are about $1,800 a month.
She instead hopes that by September, her son will get a spot in a subsidized centre close to home. In the meantime, she’s enlisted the help of her mother.
What major party leaders are promising
During campaigning for the April 28 election, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has promised to leave the program intact, with the federal government as well as the provinces and territories continuing to split the costs until 2031.
The party did not respond to a request for more details.
Conservative Leader Pierre Pollievre has also said he will not cut the program, but suggested he will address the “massive, top-down bureaucratic system” that hasn’t addressed the shortage of child-care spots.
“We are going to give more freedom and flexibility to parents, providers and provinces to support the child care of all kids,” he told reporters March 25.
Poilievre stopped short of saying the Conservatives would expand the program beyond the agreements already in place.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pledged “low cost” child care by 2030, with the goal of $10 a day, or no cost for families who can’t afford it.
The Green Party says in its platform that it will “create universal early learning and child care that every family can afford.” A spokesperson said more details can be expected later in the campaign.
