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Parents and advocates say they are "quite concerned" after Ontario's education minister issued a letter to families on Tuesday warning of a possible rise in child-care fees next spring while calling on the federal government to commit more funding for the $10-a-day program.
Ontario's current $10-a-day child-care agreement with the federal government ends on March 31, 2026. Through the deal, and the funding that has come with it, child-care fees at centres that are part of the program have been capped at $22-a-day as of January, which was expected to lower the average per-day cost from $23 to $19.
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Alana Powell, executive director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario, said families and workers in the sector are looking for stability.
"Signing on to the agreement quickly and securing that is very important for the child-care community," she said.
"We're already hearing from families who are stressed with the cost of living, concerned about economic uncertainty, with the threat of ongoing tariffs and new tariffs and to have a letter come out that sort of suggests potential fee increases, without giving a more fulsome picture of everything that's going on, I think is really alarming for families," said Powell.
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