The $10-a-Day Promise Canada Made — And Hasn't Fully Kept
Canada promised $10-a-day childcare. The plan is falling 90,000 spaces short of its target. Waitlists are growing, hidden fees persist, and the families who need the program most are often the last to access it.
When the federal government announced $10-a-day childcare, it was a historic moment. Universal, affordable childcare — the kind that exists in Quebec and every Nordic country — was finally coming to the rest of Canada. For many families, it was the first time they'd felt seen by a policy in years.
The reality has been more complicated.
The Gaps Nobody's Talking About
90,000 spaces short of target
Canada is projected to be approximately 90,000 spaces short of its 284,000-spot childcare target by spring 2026. 31% of parents with children 0–5 reported their child was on a waitlist in 2025 — up from 26% in 2023. For infants under 1, the waitlist rate jumped to 56%. (Statistics Canada / CCPA, 2025–26)
As of 2025, more than half of all parents with infants are waiting for care that won't arrive for months, sometimes years. In provinces still building toward the $10/day price point, licensed family childcare providers charge an average of $34/day. Hidden fees — for meals, field trips, registration, and supplies — are common across British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick.
Who Gets Left Behind
The program has done less to reach the families who need it most. Rural areas, smaller cities, and racialized communities continue to face the most severe shortages. The spaces that do exist are concentrated in urban centers already served by licensed care. The childcare desert hasn't shrunk — it's just been renamed.
“A program that serves families who already had options is not universal childcare. It's a subsidy for the lucky.”
This isn't an argument against $10-a-day childcare. It's an argument for making it real. Close the 90,000-space gap. Fund enforcement of the $10 price point. Build care in the communities that have none. The promise was right. The implementation needs to catch up.
Becky Tsadilas
Founder, Momera — Movement of Mothers Ending Poverty. Based in Cochrane, Alberta. hello@momera.ca