Economic and Social Reports
Estimates of parental child care expenses in January to February 2022

The Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2017) sets parameters to work towards a shared vision of high-quality, accessible, flexible, inclusive and affordable child care in Canada. As part of this vision, Budget 2021 specified two goals related to child care fees and expenses: (1) a 50% reduction in average fees for regulated early learning and child care (ELCC) in all provinces outside Quebec, to be delivered before or by the end of 2022, and (2) an average fee of $10 a day by 2026 for all regulated child care spaces in Canada.

Several national surveys have collected information to understand the amount paid (or charged) for child care by type of child care (e.g., child care centre, family child care home) and province or territory of residence. This information can be reported by providers (that is, what was charged for child care) or by parents (what was paid for child care).

In early 2022, the Canadian Survey on the Provision of Child Care Services was conducted by Statistics Canada. This survey included questions on the daily fee (including subsidies) charged by child care providers in Canada. Providers reported charging between $20 and $58 per day depending on the province or territory, type of provider (centre-based, licensed home-based, unlicensed home-based), and child age group. These estimates are available on the Statistics Canada website (Statistics Canada, 2023), but reflect early 2022 and therefore are from before the full implementation of the Canada-wide system for child care. Information is also available from provincial and territorial administrative sources (Beach et al., 2023), or from other survey data (Macdonald & Friendly, 2022).

Although several national surveys have collected information on child care expenses from the parent perspective, information on the amount parents pay out of pocket per child has been limited. The most recently published national estimates are from the General Social Survey – Family (Sinha, 2014) and suggested that in 2011, the monthly per-child expense of full-time care for children aged 4 and younger ranged from $152 in Quebec to $677 in Ontario. One in eight parents living outside Quebec reported no expense for full-time care for their child aged 4 and younger. More recent information is necessary given the rapidly changing landscape for child care in Canada.

The Survey on Early Learning and Child Care Arrangements (SELCCA) reflects the most recent source of data from which to examine child care expenses as reported by parents, with the latest survey conducted in January to February 2022. The SELCCA collects data on the ELCC arrangements used for children aged 0 to 5 years (Statistics Canada, 2022). Respondents (usually parents or legal guardians) report how much they usually pay (in dollars per day, week or month) directly to the child care provider (net of subsidies) for each type of child care arrangement (e.g., daycare centre, family child care home) used by the target child in the past three months.^Note The survey also collects complementary information on the number of hours and number of days per week the child usually spends in each type of arrangement, as well as the child’s main child care arrangement (if using more than one). National, provincial and territorial information is now available to describe the mean and median parental expenses for child care for children ages 0 to 5 in 2019, 2020 and 2022 (Table 42-10-0053-01).

On average, parents paid $7,790 per year for the main full-time child care arrangement for their 0- to 5-year-old child in 2022^Note

The amount parents paid for their child’s main child care arrangement varied by age of child, hours in care and type of child care arrangement. In early 2022, parents reported paying an average of $7,790 per year for the main full-time (30 or more hours per week) child care arrangement for their 0- to 5-year-old ($9,616 excluding Quebec).^Note When considering children who were in any number of hours of care per week (including part-time care), parents paid an average of $6,565 in 2022 ($7,294 excluding Quebec). This equates to an average of $649 per month for full-time care ($547 per month when including part-time child care), or $31 per day ($29 per day when including part-time child care).

Parents paid more for a 0- to 3-year-old’s main child care arrangement than a 4- to 5-year-old’s main child care arrangement. In early 2022, parents paid an average of $8,146 per year for their 0- to 3-year-old’s main full-time child care arrangement ($679 monthly, $32 daily) compared with an average of $6,880 for 4- to 5-year-olds in full-time child care ($573 monthly, $27 daily).

Parents paid the most for care by a non-relative in the child’s home

The amount that parents paid for their child’s main child care arrangement varied by type of arrangement. In early 2022, for a 0- to 5-year-old child whose main child care arrangement was full-time centre-based child care, parents paid an average of $7,957 per year ($663 per month, $31 per day). For a child whose main child care arrangement was a family child care home, parents paid an average of $7,042 per year for a 0- to 5-year-old child attending full time ($587 per month, $29 per day) in early 2022. For a 0- to 5-year-old child whose main child care arrangement was full-time care by a non-relative in the child’s home (i.e., a nanny), parents paid an average of $26,669^{E use with caution} per year ($2,222^{E use with caution} per month, $106^{E use with caution} per day) in early 2022. Lastly, on average, for a child whose main child care arrangement was full-time care by a relative other than a parent, parents paid an average of $3,517 per year ($293 per month, $15 per day) in early 2022. The average expense for care by a relative was likely lower because many parents reported no expenses for this type of care (59% of children whose main type of child care was full-time care by a relative had no parental child care expenses for this type of care in 2022).

Limitations

The SELCCA has several limitations in terms of reporting estimates of parental child care expenses. First, it is unknown whether the type of child care attended by the child is licensed or unlicensed in 2022 (and was parent-reported in 2019 and 2020), nor is it possible to ascertain whether the specific child care provider is part of the Canada-wide ELCC system (i.e., “opted in” to the program). The estimates presented reflect only the amount parents paid for their child’s main child care type. For children who attended more than one type of child care (16% of children aged 0 to 5 attending child care), these estimates do not reflect parents’ total child care expenses for that child. Lastly, these estimates do not consider the effect of any tax credits (such as the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit or the Child Care Expense Deduction) on parents’ child care expenses.

Conclusion

These results provide recent estimates of how much parents report paying for their 0- to 5-year-old child’s main child care arrangement in early 2022. On average, parents paid between $3,517 (for care by a family member other than a parent) and $26,669 (for care by a non-relative in the child’s home) per year for full-time child care for their 0- to 5-year-old child. Estimates varied greatly depending on the type of care, the age of the child and whether the child was attending child care full time. The time frame is before the full implementation of the Canada-wide system of child care by the provinces and territories; information reflects January to February 2022.^Note More information is available on the Early Learning and Child Care Information Hub, including estimates for 2019, 2020 and 2022 at the national level, as well as for the provinces and territories. Information is available for three age groups of children—0- to 5-year-olds, 0- to 3-year-olds and 4- to 5-year-olds—and for all types of child care, as well as by main type of child care arrangement.

Authors

Anne Guèvremont and Leanne Findlay are with the Health Analysis Division, Analytical Studies and Modelling Branch, at Statistics Canada.

References

McDonald, D., Friendly, M. (2022). Game changer: Will provinces and territories meet the new federal child care fee targets? Canadian child care fees 2021. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Retrieved May 11, 2023, from: https://policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2022/05/Game%20changer.pdf.

Sinha, M. (2014). Child care in Canada. Spotlight on Canadians: Results from the General Social Survey. Ottawa, Ont.: Statistics Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2014005-eng.htm.

Statistics Canada (2023). Average daily fee (including subsidies) charged per child by child care business type. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=4210004114.