Canada likely to miss 2026 deadline for $10-a-day child care, says report

July 9, 2025

RED FM News Desk

SURREY, BC – Canada is expected to miss its self-imposed 2026 deadline for implementing $10-a-day child care services across the country, according to a new report published Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

The analysis concludes that only six provinces and territories are currently meeting this fee target.

David Macdonald, an economist with the centre, stated that despite significant fee reductions nationwide, the federal government is unlikely to meet its ambitious deadline. “It’s almost certain that even after the 2026 deadline passes, many parents in five provinces will be paying more than $10 a day for child care,” Macdonald noted.

The $10-a-day child care program, initially announced in 2021, was a signature policy of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The report identifies Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador as the six provinces and territories that have either met or surpassed the government’s 2026 target for affordable child care.

Conversely, five provinces — Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, B.C., and New Brunswick — have yet to outline plans to reduce fees to the $10-a-day federal target.