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Most provinces have dropped daycare costs to $10/day. Why are some Toronto parents still paying full fees?

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For-profit daycares continue to join the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program at much lower rates, particularly in the GTA.
Author: 
Kennedy, Brendan
Format: 
Article
Publication Date: 
19 Jan 2025

Excerpt

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In Ontario, parent fees for participating daycares have now been cut to a maximum of $22 per day, and the goal is to reduce them further to $10/day by next year.

And yet, problems persist, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, where more daycares have opted out of the national program than anywhere else.

While several provinces and territories boast 100-per-cent participation in the Canada-wide program, Ontario’s participation rate is 92 per cent — the lowest in the country. Within the GTA, the participation rate is even lower at 87 per cent, according to data collected by the Star from individual municipalities. (Ontario’s Ministry of Education says data it collected in June showed an 89-per-cent participation rate in the GTA. They could not confirm the Star’s findings.)   

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