Halifax has some of the highest child care costs in Canada, study finds

CBC

3 days ago

A new report says Halifax has some of the highest child care costs among major Canadian cities, a finding that advocates say risks forcing Nova Scotians — particularly women — out of the workforce.
Released Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the data says Halifax has the sixth most expensive child care fees out of 35 major Canadian cities. The median fee for daycare in Halifax was $24 a day per child as of April, according to the think tank's study, more expensive than fees in Toronto, Oakville, Ottawa and all other Atlantic cities studied.
Five cities in British Columbia — Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, Burnaby and Kelowna — ranked higher than Halifax, according to the report.
Kenya Thompson, with Child Care Now Nova Scotia, said families in the province are struggling to find daycare they can afford, with many parents forced to leave their jobs to care for children.
"I hear so many stories of folks whose employment has been significantly disrupted," she said.
Thompson said the provincial government needs to significantly invest in child care to subsidize fees and ensure parents with young children remain in the workforce.
"If you don't have child care, it has huge implications for your employment, and frankly it's a gendered issue," she said in an interview Wednesday.
"Women, moms are the ones who are taking time off and have to try to juggle all these different responsibilities."
The report examined the progress provinces and territories are making on hitting the federal government's target of having regulated child care cost an average of $10 a day by 2026.
In 2021, the federal Liberals budgeted $27 billion over five years to reach child care deals with all 13 provinces and territories. And while Ottawa succeeded in striking all 13 agreements — and even though fees have dropped significantly across the country since 2021 — the federal government is unlikely to meet its self-imposed deadline.
"It's almost certain that even after the 2026 deadline passes, many parents in five provinces will be paying more than $10 a day for child care," said David Macdonald, an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The report says just six provinces and territories — Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador — have met or improved upon the government's $10-a-day target.
Five provinces — Ontario, Alberta, B.C., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia — do not yet have plans to reduce fees to an average of $10 a day, the report says.
Paul Wozney, the Nova Scotia NDP's education and early childhood development critic, said in a statement Wednesday the think tank's report raises serious concerns about the province's ability to hit the federal target.
"The daily child care cost for a preschool child in Halifax is just over $22 — meaning families here are paying more than twice what parents in cities like Winnipeg, Charlottetown, St. John's and Montreal pay," Wozney said.
"That adds up to hundreds of dollars a month because the (provincial) government isn't taking action to deliver more affordable child care," he added.
Thompson said that while the centre's report focused on major cities, previous research by the think tank and her advocacy group show that rural parts of Nova Scotia are also short on affordable child care spaces.
"The reality of the province is that many folks live in rural and remote areas, and people cannot access child care where they live," she said.
In July 2021, Nova Scotia became the second province to sign a child care deal with Ottawa, totalling $605 million to fund thousands of subsidized daycare spots. Nova Scotia agreed to use the money to create 9,500 new spaces by March 2026.
Nova Scotia's Department of Education and Early Childhood Development did not immediately answer questions about Halifax's child care fees or say when it expects to make $10 a day a reality. Department spokesperson Krista Higdon noted that almost 7,000 new child care spaces have been created since 2021.