ECEC in Canada 2023 report released

The Childcare Research and Resource Unit has just released its most recent report – ECEC in Canada 2023. The report is the 14th report in its series, highlighting data from March 2021 to March 2023, thus capturing sector trends during the first two years of the CWELCC implementation. 

The data shows that the CWELCC program is progressing and impacting the expansion of the sector, but more needs to be done, especially by the provinces and territories. As the CRRU states, the report shows that “significant changes have been made to early learning and child care but more are required as federal, provincial, and territorial governments undertake the complex task of building a quality ELCC system.”

The report draws primarily on administrative data collected from provincial and territorial officials, as well as publicly available government documents and sources.

Overall, the total number of regulated spaces for 0 to 12 year olds increased by 137,165 – from 1,490,046 in 2021 to 1,627,211 in 2023. This represents a 9.2% growth in regulated spaces, including centre-based and family home child care. However, it’s important to note the dip in total spaces in 2021 due to the pandemic. Looking at the 2019 figures, there was a total increase of 120,553, or 8% growth from 2019 to 2023 (see Table 9), in regulated spaces for children 0 to 12 years old.

It  is encouraging to see an increase in the percentage of children 0-5 years for whom there was a full-day or part-day centre space – from 22% in 2019 to 31% in 2023. There were approximately 50,000 new 0 to 5 spaces created between 2021 and 2023, and 82,000 since 2019. 

The CRRU report shows that, between 2021 and 2023, regulated family child care spaces have increased in 7 of the 13 jurisdictions across Canada, yet  this modest growth follows a steady decline from 2008 to 2021. 

Expansion of for-profit spaces

It is notable that there has been a greater increase in new for-profit spaces (27,583), compared with not-for-profit and public spaces (23,315).

For-profit spaces increased by more than public and not-for-profit spaces in six jurisdictions (PE, NB, ON, AB, BC, YT), while there was a greater increase in public and not-for-profit spaces in five provinces (NL, NS, QC, MB and SK). In NT and NU, all spaces are not-for-profit (Table 1).

Table 1: New 0-5 spaces created between 2021-2023, by auspice

The growth in the commercial child care sector goes against the commitment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to build a primarily not-for-profit Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system.

Federal spending increases not matched by provincial and territorial governments

Overall spending for regulated child care was $9.818 billion in 2022-23, an increase from $5.881 billion in 2018-2019. The 2020-21 figures are not comparable due to the impacts of the COVID-19. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, $5.014 billion was allocated by the federal government to provinces, representing 52% of all spending on regulated early learning and child care in 2022-23; and a 61% increase in federal spending between 2018-19 and 2022-23 (ECEC in Canada summary report, Table 5). 

Other funding figures highlighted in the report include that, by mid-2024:

• 6 of 13 jurisdictions have reached the $10/day parent fee target
• 6 of 13 jurisdictions have introduced wage grids of some kind, and five others are working on them

The ECEC in Canada report series is instrumental in tracking the expansion of child care spaces and other sector developments. If this fairly modest expansion can be done with limited federal and provincial capital support, the report offers an encouraging story about what could be done with more public funding for capital expenditures, and better planning and accountability mechanisms at all levels of government.