Ontario’s progress on child-care targets is falling short, according to the latest report by the auditor general. Auditor General Shelley Spence’s office recently released four special reports, one of which focused on Ontario’s implementation of the national $10-a-day child-care program.
Despite the national trend of provinces reducing parent fees to $10 a day, Ontario is lagging behind in this regard. The province had committed to creating 86,000 new child-care spaces by December 2026 but has only achieved about 75% of its interim target by the end of 2024.
Moreover, the province’s approach to assigning space creation targets has shifted towards areas with quicker implementation potential rather than focusing on the regions most in need of new spaces. This strategic change was made to improve the chances of meeting the overall target.
While the number of registered early childhood educators (ECEs) has increased in Ontario’s system, it still falls short of the province’s target. Originally estimated to require 8,500 more ECEs by 2026, the revised projection now stands at 10,000 additional ECEs.