Have child, need job: How child-care problems prevent many families from re-entering the workforce

Lower child-care fees have helped increase employment among parents of young children in Canada while adding to the GDP, but there are access problems that policy could address. (Andrej Lisakov/Unsplash) Have child, need job: How child‑care problems prevent many families from re‑entering the workforce Published: July 21, 2026 11.47am EDT Share article Print article More than 300,000 Canadian families faced child-care access barriers last year that delayed a parent’s return to work, underscoring the urgent need to expand child-care access. This was despite other tangible and important gains related to Canada-wide child care — the affordability of care from lower parent fees (for people who secured child-care spaces) and increases in GDP as more mothers entered the labour force. These findings are detailed in a new Centre for the Study of Living Standards report authored by Alisaleh Shariati, the first author of this story. The study estimates that lower fees helped increase employment among mothers of young children by about 29,000 by the end of 2025. That added about $2.7 billion in direct GDP per year. While the affordability and economic gains of Canada-wide early learning and child care programs are real, a much bigger gain could be realized by addressing the availability problem. In 2025, about 332,200 families had child-care access problems that delayed a parent’s return to work. This included 33.9 per cent of families that were using child care but still experiencing access difficulties and 43 per cent of families that were not using child care. If half of all parents who faced access problems were able to return to paid employment once those barriers were removed, the GDP gain could reach about $15.6 billion. Even under a more cautious estimate, the gain would be about $10.9 billion. These numbers illustrate what Canada is leaving on the table when parents want to work but cannot access child care. The message is simple and clear: lower fees have increased demand, but the supply of usable spaces has not kept pace. Cheaper care, not always available The Canada-wide early learning and child care system was launched in 2021. The plan aimed to cut fees, move toward an average of $10 a day and create 250,000 regulated child-care spaces. Parliament later reinforced those goals through the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act that frames child care as important for families, gender equality and the economy. Canada’s $10-a-day child-care…