Advocates call on federal government to keep $10aDay child care promise to Canadian families

In a time of economic uncertainty and cost of living crisis, 100 organizations call for national affordable child care program to be protected and expanded

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 30, 2026 /CNW/ - The promise of $10aDay child care is at risk of being broken, child care advocates warned today as Canada's Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for early learning and child care gathered in Ottawa to discuss the future of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan.

"Several provinces signalled in advance of this ministerial meeting that they want to move away from the goal of building a primarily not-for-profit system of child care that makes high-quality, low-fee programs available to all families across the country," said Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director of Child Care Now, Canada's national child care advocacy association. "In a cost of living crisis, Canadian families can't afford to see our governments retreat from affordable, nonprofit and public child care."

In a letter to the Ministers, Child Care Now and one hundred major organizations, have appealed to them to strengthen rather than dismantle a program that is yielding enormous economic benefits by making it possible for many more parents, particularly mothers, to rejoin or remain in the paid workforce.

"The $10aDay program has benefitted close to a million families but it is not yet adequate to deliver its full potential or to meet the needs of families living on low incomes," said Leila Sarangi, National Coordinator of the anti-poverty coalition Campaign 2000.

"The Forum of Ministers responsible for early learning and child care should be focused on how to accelerate the construction of new facilities and on how to recruit and retain qualified early childhood educators to work in programs. The way to make the $10aDay program more equitable is to make programs more available to all," Sarangi said.

Sheila Olan-MacLean, the co-CEO of a large child care organization that provides services in Peterborough, Ontario and nearby rural communities said the child care sector is counting on governments to strengthen and expand the $10aDay program.

"What we need is a renewal of political will to meet the child care needs of families; more public funding from both levels of government; and improved accountability and planning to ensure that public funds for child care are used effectively and efficiently," she said.

"Parents desperately need the $10aDay program," added Janet Amito, a single mother with a toddler in a Toronto child care centre.

"The uncertain future of the Canada-wide child care plan is making families very anxious. If fees go up, I won't be able to keep my son in his program and that means I won't be able to work and then I won't be able to pay my other bills," Amito said.

Child Care Now and its partner organizations are calling on the Federal, Provincial and Territorial ministers to:

• Increase public funding over the next five years to meet the costs of operating quality child care programs in addition to expanding the availability of licensed child care through the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program;
• Take steps to meet the commitment to build a primarily non-profit child care system so that all public investments are directed to improvements not to profit-making;
• Invest in the early learning and child care workforce to address the crisis in recruitment and retention.

A copy of the letter to the Forum of Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers mostly responsible for early learning and child care is available at https://childcarenow.ca/2026/01/29/keep-the-child-care-promise-joint-letter

SOURCE Child Care Now (Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada)

For further information, or to arrange interviews, contact: Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director, Child Care Now, [phone], [email protected]