Report reveals affordable child care added $13.6 billion to Ontario’s economy in 2024
A new economic report released recently found that the expansion of affordable child care in Ontario has delivered billions of dollars in economic benefits for the province. The report, The Economic Impact of Affordable Child Care in Ontario, authored by economist Dr. Jim Stanford of the Centre for Future Work, estimates that Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 was $13.6 billion higher than it would have been without the expansion of affordable child care beginning in 2019.
The report highlights several key economic benefits resulting from Ontario’s child care expansion since 2019:
- More than 17,000 new jobs have been created in Ontario’s child care sector, with total sector compensation projected to exceed $3 billion in 2026.
- Labour force participation among women aged 25 to 54 increased by two full percentage points between 2019 and 2026, outpacing the national average. Combined with more women moving from part-time to full-time employment, this added an estimated 81,500 full-time-equivalent workers to Ontario’s economy.
- Job quality within the sector has improved, with average weekly earnings for child care workers rising 39% since 2019, while average weekly hours increased from 26 to 31 hours.
Despite these gains, the report raises concerns about Ontario’s implementation of CWELCC as the province negotiates a new child care agreement with the federal government.
Ontario’s current agreement expires in March 2027, yet the province remains 25% behind its target for creating new licensed child care spaces for children under six. While the national goal remains $10-a-day child care, average daily parent fees in Ontario are still approximately $19, with fees capped at $22 per day.
The report also criticizes Ontario’s continued reliance on for-profit providers, which account for 44% of full-day licensed child care spaces. Research has consistently linked greater reliance on for-profit delivery with lower quality care and higher staff turnover.
The report identifies Ontario’s ongoing early childhood educator shortage as one of the greatest risks to the long-term success of the child care system.
Although real earnings for early learning and child care staff have increased by 15% since 2019, wages remain well below those earned in comparable professions requiring similar education and training.
The report concludes that the enormous economic value of affordable child care are undisputed, but warns that these gains could be undermined without renewed political commitment.
Its recommendations include securing long-term federal-provincial funding through 2031, eliminating child care deserts, accelerating the creation of licensed spaces, implementing a province-wide wage grid for educators, and finally delivering on the promise of $10-a-day child care.