Province to Provide 24,000 More Children with Access to Care in 2017-18
Ontario is helping more children access affordable, quality licensed child care to give them the best start in life and support families across the province.
Quality child care is essential for families. Parents want peace of mind to know they will have access to care for their kids as close to home as possible, and that it will be affordable for their monthly budget. Yet for too many, child care is unavailable, unaffordable, or has a significant wait time.
The government is committed to addressing these challenges by increasing access to licensed child care and by making it more affordable for families.
- 24,000 more children up to four years old will have access to child care in 2017-18. This is part of the province’s plan to help 100,000 kids access child care over five years, as announced in the 2016 Ontario Speech from the Throne.
- Parents will receive more financial support to increase affordability, including subsidies for approximately 60 per cent of new child care spaces.
The province will also work with families and experts in the coming months to develop a child care affordability strategy that will identify further measures that could lower costs and support parents.
Taken together, these supports will help parents access crucial care for their children, reduce wait lists and make child care more affordable.
Making it easier and more affordable for families to access child care is part of our plan
Quick Facts
- Ontario is investing over $200 million in 2017-18 to increase accessibility and affordability of licensed child care throughout the province, building on the $65.5 million capital investment announced in the 2016 Fall Economic Statement.
- Ontario has invested an additional $63.5 million each year since 2010 to help fill the gap left when the federal government stepped away from its child care responsibility. The province welcomes the federal government supporting Ontario’s investment as part of the infrastructure announcement outlined in the 2017 federal budget.
- Ontario has helped create 56,000 new licensed child care spaces over the past three years.
- Through full-day kindergarten, families are saving up to $6,500 per child per year in child care costs. With more than $1.5 billion in funding every year, the program is one of the most significant education investments Ontario has made in a generation.
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