The Canadian government has proposed to make child care more affordable in Canada with its Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare System. Since the newcomers arriving in Canada usually belong to a younger age group than the average Canadian, simply meaning that they have younger families. So, it is easily understandable that they have a greater need for childcare.
Hence, to help out the younger generation of immigrants settling in Canada and providing them with better access to childcare, it is important childcare in Canada should be more affordable for all. Including those whose Canada minimum wage is not enough and thus feel the brunt of expensive childcare.
How will Childcare in Canada become affordable?
Childcare in Canada used to be so expensive, families had to pay $31 a day for full time childcare for children aged between 0 – 5 years in 2022, according to Statistics Canada. But the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System aims to cut down costs drastically. This will make childcare as affordable as $10 a day only.
Do you know about the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System? It’s an agreement between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments of Canada to make childcare more pocket friendly for everyone.
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In case you are worried about quality, don’t. There will be no compromises with quality, rather, the system targets to make childcare more flexible, affordable, and inclusive as well. Hence, no matter where the child is living in Canada, they will be in good hands while their parents are not home.
Now, let’s take a look at how much parents had to pay for childcare previously.
Cost & Demand of Childcare in Canada
According to the Statistics Canada 2022 survey on childcare services in Canada, an average parent had to pay $7,790 a year for full time childcare services. This was for children in the age group of 0 to 5 years. Upon breaking down this large sum, we conclude that on an average, parents had to set aside about $649 a month or $31 a day for full time childcare. By full time childcare, we mean 30+ hours a week.
And if the children belonged to the age group of 0 to 3 rather than 4 to 5, the parents had to pay less. Apparently, for children between 0 to 3 years, they paid about $8,146 for full time care. While for those in the age group of 4 to 5, parents paid an average of $6,880 on a yearly basis.
From the survey, it was also observed that families whose childcare support came from a non-relative had to pay more.
For instance, if the family hired a nanny for full time childcare for their child aged between 0 to 5, they would be paying the nanny about $26,669 a year. On the other hand, if the childcare was by a relative, the parents would only be paying about $3,517 a year.
Moreover, the cost may even be lower than this, as most parents didn’t even have to pay anything.
After considering all the costs and need for childcare in Canada, it is safe to say that newcomers to Canada do require affordable childcare services in Canada. Hence, let’s hope that the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System brings about some necessary changes and relief.
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