Table 3
Difficulties for parents and guardians in finding a child care arrangement, children aged 0 to 5, Canada, 2020
| Population estimate – Among children aged 0 to 5 in child care | Estimate – Among children aged 0 to 5 in child care | Lower confidence limit at 95% – Among children aged 0 to 5 in child care | Upper confidence limit at 95% – Among children aged 0 to 5 in child care | Population estimate – Among children aged 0 to 5 not in child care | Estimate – Among children aged 0 to 5 not in child care | Lower confidence limit at 95% – Among children aged 0 to 5 not in child care | Upper confidence limit at 95% – Among children aged 0 to 5 not in child care | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % | % | % | number | % | % | % | |
| Did you have difficulty finding child care? | ||||||||
| No | 666,666 | 55.3 | 53.5 | 57.0 | 177,873 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 17.8 |
| Yes | 441,143 | 36.6 | 34.9 | 38.3 | 232,755 | 21.1 | 19.2 | 23.2 |
| Did not look for child care | 98,296 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 9.2 | 691,770 | 62.8 | 60.5 | 65.0 |
| What difficulties did you have?1 | ||||||||
| Care available in your community | 247,104 | 56.3 | 53.1 | 59.4 | 118,214 | 50.9 | 45.9 | 55.8 |
| Affordable child care | 190,681 | 43.4 | 40.7 | 46.2 | 136,232 | 58.6 | 53.7 | 63.4 |
| Care that fits your work or study schedule | 144,825 | 33.0 | 30.3 | 35.8 | 58,847 | 25.3 | 21.1 | 30.1 |
| Finding the quality of care that you desire | 129,315 | 29.4 | 27.0 | 32.1 | 56,359 | 24.3 | 20.2 | 28.8 |
| Finding licensed care | 119,900 | 27.3 | 24.8 | 30.0 | 54,545 | 23.5 | 19.4 | 28.1 |
| Qualified care provider | 95,698 | 21.8 | 19.5 | 24.2 | 42,566 | 18.3 | 14.8 | 22.4 |
| Care that could accommodate more than one child in your family | 71,428 | 16.3 | 14.1 | 18.7 | 41,288 | 17.8 | 13.8 | 22.6 |
| Care that meets your child's special needs | 13,495 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 6,495 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 4.3 |
| Finding care during the COVID-19 pandemic | 119,109 | 27.1 | 24.5 | 29.9 | 99,081 | 42.6 | 37.9 | 47.5 |
| Other | 84,670 | 19.3 | 17.1 | 21.7 | 35,001 | 15.1 | 12.0 | 18.7 |
| Did the difficulty result in any of the following?1 | ||||||||
| Changing your work schedule | 155,298 | 35.6 | 32.8 | 38.5 | 59,530 | 25.6 | 21.5 | 30.2 |
| Using multiple care arrangements or a temporary arrangement | 128,332 | 29.4 | 26.9 | 32.1 | 40,303 | 17.3 | 12.9 | 22.8 |
| Working fewer hours | 133,601 | 30.6 | 28.0 | 33.4 | 55,702 | 23.9 | 19.8 | 28.6 |
| Postponing your return to work | 115,657 | 26.5 | 23.9 | 29.2 | 94,592 | 40.6 | 35.5 | 46.0 |
| Deciding to split care with your spouse or partner | 100,492 | 23.0 | 20.6 | 25.7 | 51,309 | 22.0 | 18.3 | 26.3 |
| Postponing or discontinuing school or training | 34,917 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 9.8 | 21,912 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 12.2 |
| Deciding to work at home | 54,639 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 14.8 | 42,629 | 18.3 | 14.8 | 22.5 |
| I gave up looking | 29,089 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 38,367 | 16.5 | 13.4 | 20.1 |
| Other | 56,403 | 12.9 | 11.1 | 15.0 | 34,279 | 14.7 | 11.8 | 18.2 |
| None of the above | 89,468 | 20.5 | 18.4 | 22.8 | 24,401 | 10.5 | 7.9 | 13.8 |
Note(s):
Reasons add up to more than 100% because parents can select multiple options.
Source(s):
Statistics Canada, Survey on Early Learning and Child Care Arrangements, 2020 (5287).
Table note 1
Proportion is among those who reported having difficulty.
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