1 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF REGULATED CHILD CARE SPACES

• Therewasarelativelysizeableincreaseinspacescomparedtomuchofthepastdecade.

• Therewere1,349,827regulatedspacesfor0-12yearoldsCanada-widein2016.

• Spacesinclude:636,157fullandpartdaycentrespacesfor0-5yearolds,570,022centrespacesforschool-agechildrento12years;143,6470-12yearoldsinregulatedfamily(home)childcare.

• Thenetincreaseinregulatedchildcarespaces2014-2016was148,819spacesincentresandregulatedhomechildcarefor0-12yearolds.

• Although2012-2014hadamoresubstantialincrease(214,166spaces),the2014-2016increaseisnotablewhencomparedtothelast15years.

• Between2014and20161,centrespacesfor0-5yearolds2grewby92,996whilethesupplyofschool-agespaces(usuallyforchildren6to12years)grewby57,489;regulatedhomechildcaredecreasedslightly,by1,666.

• Spacesfor0-12yearoldsincreasedinalmosteveryprovince/territory,withOntarioaccountingfor48%oftheCanada-wideincreaseandQuebecaccountingfor41%.

COVERAGE: PERCENT OF CHILDREN FOR WHOM THERE IS A REGULATED PART OR FULL DAY CHILD CARE CENTRE SPACE

• Coveragefor0-5yearoldsincreasedinmostprovinces/territoriesbetween2014and2016.ForCanadaasawhole,thisincreasewashighcomparedtomostpreviousyears.

• Therewereenoughcentrespacesfor28.9%of0-5yearoldsincentrespartandfullday,4.8%higherthanthe24.1%coverageforthesameagegroupin2014.

• Coveragefor0-5yearoldsincentrespacesrangedfromahighof39.4%inPrinceEdwardIslandtoalowof13.7%inSaskatchewan.

• Therelativelyhighincreaseincoveragebetween2014and2016canbeattributedtotheinterplaybetweentherelativelysubstantialincreaseinnumberofspacesandamodestreductioninthenumberofchildrenaged0-5years.(adecreaseofabout55,000children).

• Therewereenoughregulatedspaces(includingcentresandhomechildcare)tocover27.2%of0-12yearolds,withprovincial/territorialvariationrangingfrom8.4%(Saskatchewan)to55.1%(Quebec).Coveragefor0-12yearoldsincreasedfrom24.1%in2014.

1Figuresfornumberofspacesincentresrepresentslicensedcapacity,notenrolment,whichisnotavailable.2Notethathomechildcareisnotincludedinthecalculationsforcoveragefor0-5yearolds,asagebreakdownsarenotusuallyavailableinhomechildcare.

Early childhood educationand care in Canada 2016

ThispresentssomeofthekeyfindingsfromEarly childhood education and care in Canada 2016,theChildcareResourceand

ResearchUnit’s11thcross-Canadadata-basedreportonearlychildhoodeducationandchildcare(ECEC).Thisreport,

togetherwithpreviouseditions,allowsexaminationsofECECandrelatedprogramsoverthepast25years.

APR

IL2018KEY FINDINGS

2 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

PARENT FEES

• Medianparentfeesforregulatedchildcare(centresandregulatedhomechildcarecombined)forCanada’slargestcitiesrangedfromalowof$183/monthinanumberofQuebeccities(infant,toddler,preschooler)toahighof$1,758/month(infant),$1,354/month(toddler),$1,212/month(preschooler)inTorontoin2017.

• In2017,withtheexceptionofQuebeccitiesandWinnipeg,allcitiesincludedhadparentfeeshigherthan$700/monthforaninfant.

• AllcitiesexceptCharlottetown,Quebeccities,WinnipegandReginahadtoddlerfeeshigherthan$700/monthandallcitiesexceptCharlottetown,St.John,allQuebeccities,WinnipegandReginahadpreschool-agefeeshigherthan$700/month.

• Medianparentfeesgenerallywentupbetween2016and2017,althoughseveralcitiesshowedsmalldrops.

• Parentfeesweresubstantiallylowerincitiesinthethreeprovincesthatsetparentfeesprovincially,mostnotablyinQuebecbutalsoManitobaandPrinceEdwardIsland.

AUSPICE IN REGULATED CHILD CARE

• In2016,thepercentofspacesoperatedonafor-profitbasisremainedat30%Canada-wide,althoughthepercentincreasedinsomejurisdictionsanddroppedinothers.

• Since2006,thepercentofcentrechildcarespacesoperatedonafor-profitbasishasbeensteadilyincreasing,reachingtheall-timehighof30%in2014.

• Thereisconsiderablevariationamongprovinces/territoriesonthis,rangingfromalowof0%ofspacesoperatedfor-profittoahighof72%operatedfor-profit.

• Inthesevenjurisdictionsinwhichdataisbrokendownintopartdayandfullday,thepercentoffulldayspacesoperatedfor-profitwasconsiderablyhigherthanthepercentofpartdayspacesoperatedfor-profit.Thepercentoftotalfulldayspacesthatwereoperatedfor-profitrangedfrom5%inManitobato52%inQuebecto79%ofNewfoundlandandLabrador’stotalfulldayspacesoperatedonafor-profitbasis.

NUMBER OF CHILDREN

• Canada-wide,therewere2,202,000children0-5yearsofage,adropofabout55,000inthatagecohortbetweenthe2014and2016editionsofECEC in Canada(rounded).

• Thesizeofthe0-5cohortdroppedinalmostallprovinces/territoriesbetweenthe2014and2016editions(usuallynotsubstantially).

NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITH EMPLOYED MOTHERS

• Therewere1,389,0000-5yearoldsand1,848,0006-12yearoldsinCanadaasawholewithemployedmothersinthe2016data(rounded).

• Althoughthenumberofchildrenwithemployedmothershasfluctuatedovertheyears,the2016numbersarequitesimilartothosein1995.

• Thenumberofchildrenwithemployedmothersisafactorofbothmothers’employmentrate(whichhasincreasedovertheyears)andthenumberofchildrenineachagecohort(whichhasfluctuated).

MOTHERS’ EMPLOYMENT RATE

• In2016,theemploymentrateofmotherswithyoungestchildrenaged0-2was71%and77%forthosewith3-5year-olds,comparedto70%with0-2year-oldsand77%for3-5yearoldsin2014.

• Lookingback20years,in1998,theemploymentrateofmotherswas65%forthosewhoseyoungestchildwas0-2and71%forthosewitha3-5yearold.

KEY FINDINGS

3 Childcare Resource and Research Unit Key Findings Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada • 2016

• Severalprovinces/territoriesnowrequireearlychildhoodspecializationforkindergartenteachers:PrinceEdwardIsland,Quebec,andOntario(whereaclassroomteamincludesanearlychildhoodeducator).NWTacceptsatwoyearearlychildhooddiplomaasaqualificationforkindergartenteachingandNovaScotia’snewprogramforfouryearoldsisstaffedbyearlychildhoodeducators.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF REGULATED CHILD CARE

• Inninejurisdictions,regulatedchildcareisnowundertheaegisofaneducationdepartment,withkindergarteninthesamedepartment.

• Mostjurisdictionsnowhaveacurriculumframeworkforregulatedchildcare;inallcases,thisisadifferentcurriculumframeworkfromthatusedinkindergarten.

• Alljurisdictionsusealicensingapproachtoregulatedchildcare.Severaldonotrequirepartdayprograms(nurseryschoolsorpreschools)tobelicensed;severalexcludesomeotherservicesfromlicensingrequirements.

• Allprovinces/territoriesofferbothcentre-basedchildcareforinfantsthroughschool-agechildrenuptoage12andregulatedfamily(home)childcare.

• Homechildcaremaybeindividuallylicensedoroperateunderanagencymodel.

• Centredirectorsareusuallyrequiredtohaveatleastaoneortwoyearearlychildhoodeducationdiplomabutseveraljurisdictionsdonotrequiretrainingforcentredirectors.

• Noneofthejurisdictionsrequiresallstaffinchildcarecentrestohavepost-secondarytraininginearlychildhoodeducation.However,severaljurisdictionsincreasedrequiredqualifications2014-2016.

• Bythespringof2018,allprovinces/territoriesexceptQuebechadcompletednegotiatedagreementswiththefederalgovernmentbasedontheMulti-lateralEarlyLearningandChildCareFramework.

April2018

PUBLIC SPENDING ALLOCATIONS FOR CHILD CARE

• TotalbudgetallocationsforchildcareinCanada(provinces/territoriestotal)reached$4.6billioninthe2015-2016fiscalyear.ThisrepresentedaCanada-wideincreaseof$323millionfrom2013-2014(inunadjusteddollars).

• Quebec’sallocationscontinuedtorepresentasubstantialproportionoftotalCanada-widechildcaredollars.Quebec’schildcarespendingaccountsfor56%oftheCanada-widetotal,whileQuebecrepresents23%ofCanada’stotalpopulation.

• CalculatingpublicspendingperregulatedspaceshowstheCanada-wideaveragetobeessentiallystatic,at$3,461perspacein2016and$3,558perspacein2014.Inmostjurisdictions,therewaslittlechangeinthisexceptinNewfoundlandandLabrador,wherespendingperspaceincreasedsignificantly.Notethatthiscalculationisbasedontotalprovincial/territorialspendingonregulatedchildcareandtotalnumberofchildren,notactualpublicspendingperspace.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF KINDERGARTEN

• Eightprovinces/territoriesprovidefullschool-daykindergartenprogramsforallfiveyearolds.

• InadditiontoOntario’sprovisionoffulldaykindergartenforallfouryearolds,NovaScotiaisphasinginfulldaykindergartenforallfouryearoldsandQuebecisincreasingprovisionofkindergartenforfouryearoldswithafocusonthosewhoarevulnerable,whileotherjurisdictionsmayprovidesomekindergartenforfouryearolds.Saskatchewanprovidesapre-kprogramtargetedtodisadvantagedthreeandfouryearolds.

KEY FINDINGS

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All CRRU publications including this document may be downloaded from the website at childcarecanada.org.

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) is a policy research institute focused on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy. CRRU has a commitment to a universal, high quality, publicly-funded, inclusive ECEC system and collaborates with other researchers, NGOs, advocacy groups and government policy makers on ECEC and family policy. One of CRRU’s basic operating premises is that public policy should be based on the best possible information about policy and practice available from multidisciplinary research and policy analysis.

Revised May 31, 2018