Results from child care fee survey show mixed progress, stalled in some provinces
For over a decade, the Child Care Fee Survey – led by David Macdonald at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and Martha Friendly from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) – has monitored child care fees in major cities across Canada.
Fees are falling, but progress is uneven
The recently released results from the 2026 survey found that six jurisdictions (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Quebec) have capped parent fees for all age groups at $10 a day (or less in Quebec).
The provincial governments of New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta have put in place province-wide fees higher than $10 a day. Four provinces (Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Yukon) allow market fees that differ by provider and age group.
The survey reported that fees in Toronto have fallen the most dramatically since the start of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program in 2021, with parents paying $1,800 a month less for an infant space than they would have paid had fees increased in line with inflation. In most other cities, the monthly savings range from from $1,200 to $1,500.
Overall, the survey found that parents in B.C. and Nova Scotia – two provinces that have maintained market fee systems – have delivered the least savings for parents.
Complex factors impacting variation in fees
The survey shows that several provinces have fallen short of a key goal of CWELCC to reduce parent fees to an average daily fee of $10. The survey results show British Columbia is the laggard, with parents paying a wide variety of fees. Infant fees fell by only between $300 and $500 per month, and in Richmond, BC, the median infant fee is still $52 per day. Additionally, in B.C., for-profit centres consistently charge $20 to $40 more per day than non-profit centres.
Another worrying trend in some provinces, not captured in this survey, is supplemental fees (for lunches or extended hours, for example) that providers are charging.
It’s also important to note that, in some provinces, a significant proportion of spaces are outside the CWELCC system, and therefore not subject to provincial fee regulation. The highest proportion of non-CWELCC spaces is in Quebec (20%), Ontario (15%) and Manitoba (10%).
Provincial governments need to expand the number of $10 a day spaces
Under the CWELCC agreements, provinces were to reach the $10 a day target by March 2026. Friendly calls on “all levels of government to deliver” in order to ensure children and families in all provinces and territories have access to a maximum of $10 a day child care space.
As the authors state, with an uncertain political climate and some provinces considering more complex pre-CWELCC approaches (such as high, income-tested fees), the fee survey provides valuable insight into the trends across provinces and territories.
Read the full report here.