Care Economy: Essential Economic Infrastructure, Warns Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce
Proposal calls for the care economy to be designated a nation-building project under Major Projects Office.
TORONTO, May 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Canada is pouring billions into roads, energy corridors, ports, and major industrial projects while failing to invest in the very system that allows Canadians to work in the first place, according to a new proposal released today by the Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC).
The proposal argues that Canada's current infrastructure strategy is "dangerously asymmetrical" because it prioritizes physical infrastructure while neglecting the human systems that sustain labour-force participation and economic productivity.
CanWCC calls on the federal government to formally designate a Canadian National Care Economy Strategy as a nation-building project under Canada's Major Projects Office framework, the same federal mechanism used to fast-track major physical infrastructure projects.
The report argues that childcare, elder care, long-term care, disability supports, home care, mental health services, and caregiving supports are not merely "social spending," but essential economic infrastructure.
"Canada treats pipelines and highways as infrastructure, but not the systems that allow people to go to work, raise children, care for aging parents, or remain healthy enough to participate in the economy," said Nancy Wilson, CanWCC's Founder and CEO and a leading voice on advancing economic equity through practical public policy. "That is a massive structural blind spot in Canada's economic strategy."
The report comes as Canada faces escalating labour shortages, an aging population, rising healthcare pressures, and growing economic insecurity among caregivers.
Among the report's findings:
- Healthcare and social services already employ roughly one in four Canadian workers;
- Paid care work contributes approximately 12% of Canada's GDP;
- Unpaid care work in Canada is estimated to be worth between $517 billion and $860 billion annually;
- Canada's population aged 85+ is projected to more than triple by 2075;
- Ontario alone is projected to need more than 50,000 additional PSWs and 33,000 nurses by 2032.
The report also challenges the way governments classify care spending.
"Governments routinely borrow billions for bridges because they recognize long-term economic returns," said Wilson. "But investments in childcare, home care, mental health, and caregiving are still treated like short-term operating expenses, despite overwhelming evidence that they generate economic growth, increase workforce participation, reduce healthcare costs, and strengthen national resilience."
The proposal estimates that major investments in the care economy could generate more than one million jobs and partially pay for themselves through increased tax revenue and labour-force participation.
CanWCC is urging the federal government to:
- Recognize carework as a critical investment in economic infrastructure;
- Designate a national care strategy under the Major Projects Office; and
- Coordinate long-term federal-provincial implementation
The report argues that Canada cannot successfully execute large-scale economic ambitions, including housing, industrial expansion, energy development, and productivity growth, without simultaneously investing in the care systems that support workers and families.
"People build economies," said Wilson. "Without care infrastructure, the rest of Canada's infrastructure agenda begins to fail."
CanWCC will host a public online Town Hall event on May 28, 2026, from 3:00–4:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the proposal and the importance of the care economy with self-employed people, caregivers, advocates, and community members from across Canada.
The Town Hall will focus particularly on forms of carework outside of direct medical care, including childcare, eldercare, emotional labour, caregiving responsibilities, disability supports, and the impact of care systems on self-employment and workforce participation.
The event is open to the public.
About the Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce
The Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC) advances gender and economic equity in Canada through advocacy, education, and community-building. CanWCC represents over one million self-employed women and gender-diverse people across Canada. For more information, visit CanWCC.ca
Report: Canada's Missing Major Project: The Canadian National Care Economy Strategy
SOURCE Canadian Womens Chamber of Commerce
MEDIA CONTACT: Maricruz Vazquez, Manager, PR and Media, [email protected]
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