Child Care Advocates Urge Governments to Strengthen $10-a-Day System at Upcoming Ministers’ Meeting
January 30, 2026
Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers most responsible for child care are meeting this week in Ottawa to discuss the future of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care ($10-a-Day) system.
Ahead of the meeting, a pan-Canadian coalition coordinated by Child Care Now has delivered a joint letter to ministers calling on every level of government to commit to expanding and strengthening the $10-a-Day program.
The letter recognizes the real and measurable progress made since the system’s launch in 2021. Investments have expanded licensed child care spaces, lowered parent fees during a period of high inflation, and contributed to a significant increase in women’s participation in the labour force. Families across the country have described access to affordable child care as life-changing, and initial steps have been taken to improve wages and working conditions in the largely female child care workforce.
At the same time, the letter makes clear that much more is required to meet the program’s long-term social and economic goals. Governments are urged to build on current momentum by increasing public funding to reflect the true cost of delivering high-quality care and to expand the supply of licensed, inclusive spaces.
Signatories call for:
- a primarily public and non-profit system so public dollars support quality and equity, not profit-making
- a maximum parent fee of $10 a day, with further reductions for low-income families
- sustained investments to recruit and retain qualified early childhood educators
- concrete, proactive expansion plans to ensure equitable access in all communities
- transparent, publicly available child care agreements, action plans and results
- full funding and implementation of Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Frameworks
As a signatory to the letter, Campaign 2000 joins partners across the country in urging governments to “keep the child care promise” and treat universal child care as essential social and economic infrastructure.
A strong, universal child care system will enhance economic security for families, advance gender equity, and support the wellbeing of children and communities for generations to come.
Read the Full Letter Here (English) (French)
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