Trudeau touts more money for $10-a-day daycare, but Ontario isn't there yet

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted his government's commitment to $10-a-day child care on Monday as local daycare operators said most Ontario parents continue to pay well above that amount.

Trudeau, along with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, made the announcement at the brand new Stationview YMCA Child Care Centre in downtown St. Thomas, Ont.

Trudeau said Ottawa is contributing just under $202 million to create child-care spaces across Ontario, money that was announced previously as part of a $625-million package to create 86,000 new child-care spaces in the province by 2026. Since launching a national daycare program in 2021, the federal government has contributed some $40 billion.

Trudeau said Ottawa's commitment to fund child care will complement another recent investment by Ottawa in the St. Thomas area: $13 billion in tax subsidies for Volkswagen's new electric vehicle battery plant, which is currently under construction.

"On top of securing good jobs for the community, we want to make sure that workers know we're here to support them and their families," said Trudeau. "This is why we've been investing in $10-a-day child care."

The federal government has partnered with provinces over the past five years to create a national daycare program with the eventual goal of costing parents just $10 a day. 

The government says eight provinces and territories are currently delivering regulated child care for an average of $ 10 a day or less, but Ontario is not yet among those. And while Ottawa's investment has cut daycare costs, in the London area parents are typically paying more. Two daycare operators who spoke to CBC News said this is mainly because demand continues to exceed the supply of spaces and daycares continue to face staffing challenges. 

The daycare where Trudeau made the announcement has a wait list 555 names long. Though many of those on the wait list are parents who are expecting or have newborns, more than 300 of those on the list are toddlers or preschoolers. 

The daycare's director Jennifer Barber said she's currently serving 43 children but the building has space for 88. Her struggle is finding and retaining staff. 

"There's not enough recognition or compensation for the work they do," said Barber. 

Freeland said while Ontario may not yet have reached the $10 daily average, money flowing into the system has made daycare much cheaper at a time when most other daily costs have become more expensive. 

"Families in Ontario are already saving eight and a half thousand dollars a year and providing huge support for our economy," said Freeland. "We do need to get down to $10 a day."

On the staffing issue, Trudeau said some of the money will go toward improving compensation and working conditions for child-care workers to help daycares retain staff and fill vacancies. 

He said overall the economy will benefit because affordable daycare spaces allow parents to keep working. 

"Affordable child care means more parents, especially moms, don't have to choose between their family and their career," said Trudeau. 

Trudeau also took a shot at Pierre Poilievre, chiding the Conservative leader and his caucus for voting against the plan. 

"When the Conservative politicians say they'll vote against the budget ... they're voting against more support for educators," he said. "This is something that every politician should be able to get behind." 

A Conservative spokesperson sent a statement to CBC, deriding Trudeau's announcement as an empty photo op. 

"Across Canada, we are seeing daycare providers pull out of Trudeau's program, wait lists grow, and nearly half of families using childcare struggle to find spaces," said Sebastian Skamski. "Joining a waitlist is not access."

Food bank invited Trudeau, Freeland to visit

Outside Monday's announcement, two workers at St Thomas Elgin Food Bank stood with signs and tried to catch the attention of Trudeau and Freeland as they left. 

Sarah Coleman and Karen McDade were hoping either Trudeau or Freeland might take a moment to visit the food bank, which they said is dealing with increased demand. 

"We were trying to wave him over," said Coleman of the prime minister. We just wanted him to come over and check out the empty shelves that we have at the food bank and bring awareness to the hunger in our community."

Trudeau didn't stop but did acknowledge them. 

"He waved and smiled and said 'Hello' to us and gave us the thumbs up," said McDade. "We're not protesting, we're just wanting to invite the prime minister to come to our food bank." 

McDade and Coleman said while people are moving to St. Thomas, the food bank is "busier than ever" despite the recent interest in St. Thomas with the Volkswagen announcement.