Early childhood education and care in Canada 2019 is the Childcare Resource and Research Unit’s 12th compilation of Canada-wide data on early learning and child care (ELCC) and related early childhood and family programs.

These reports have been published about every two years since 1992, allowing both cross-Canada and longitudinal tracking of ELCC programs and policy using a consistent approach to ensure comparable data over time and across Canada. This 12th version is especially important because the report provides benchmarks on key indicators of the state of Canadian early learning and child care before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and will assist considerably in the identification and analysis of the pandemic’s effects on ELCC provision as the country moves forward into the recovery period post-pandemic.

The report provides detailed provincial/territorial descriptive information on child care and kindergarten programs including educator/teacher training, wages, ratios, group/class size, pedagogy, governance, affordability, and availability of spaces, as well as budget allocations and pertinent demographic data such as the number of children, mothers’ employment rates and more. It also offers a Canada-wide overview of how ELCC services are organized, government roles, Indigenous ELCC and parental leave.

The report notes:

Beginning in June 2017, the first three year phase of federal bilateral agreement with provinces/territories identified region specific areas of service gaps to be improved. There remained, however, widespread evidence and recognition that ELCC provision across Canada unavailable and unaffordable for many or most families. Services were inequitably distributed, insufficiently available and of uneven quality, while the mostly female child care workforce remained underpaid, underappreciated and inadequately supported.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Canada in the spring of 2020, child care services were in an vulnerable financial and organizations situation, as a national survey described. The reliance on parent fees as the primary source of revenue for most child care services across Canada meant that staff could not be paid when most regulated child care was closed to regular use across Canada. Most child care centres laid off some or all of their staff, while for parents – especially mothers – the absence of reliable child care created daily struggles. Across Canada and across sectors, for the first time, the essential and central nature of child care for the economy’s full functioning became apparent to a much broader population.

In the September 23, 2020 Throne Speech, the federal government set out its plan for economic recovery. Under the heading Women in the Economy, which recognized that ‘Women – and in particular low-income women – have been hit hardest by COVID-19…..

The September Throne Speech was followed in November by an Economic Update. In it, the federal Finance Minister announced that ‘the government is committed to making historic investments to make this happen. Budget 2021 will lay out the plan to provide affordable, accessible, inclusive and high quality child care from coast to coast to coast”.

Each section of the report outlines detailed information about childhood education and care issues. In the British Columbia section the summary provides an overview of provision in the province:

Responsibility for BC’s early childhood education and care is split among three ministries, Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), the Ministry of Health (HLTH), and the Ministry of Education (EDUC).

Access to full day kindergarten is available for all eligible five year olds in British Columbia. Both public and independent schools provide kindergarten programs. Kindergarten is optional in BC but nearly all children attend (99% of age cohort).

A variety of regulated child care programs (referred to as facilities in BC) for children 0 – 12 years old are provided, including programs outside regular school hours for school-aged children. About half of BC’s full and part day centre based programs are operated on a non-profit basis and half are for-profit.

Both non-profit and for-profit child care may receive all forms of funding – operating funds, fee subsidies, and capital funding (one time only). BC also provides parent fee subsidies in unregulated child care.

Although there is no mandated role for local government entities (i.e., municipalities or school boards) in child care delivery, administration or funding, there is a growing – albeit small – number of services operated by public government entities including First Nations governments. In addition, several local governments including the City of Vancouver have been voluntarily engaged in child care planning and funding for some years. Most recently, the provincial government has encouraged the role of municipalities in local planning for child care through collaboration with the Union of BC Municipalities.

Licensed family child care for up to seven 0-12 year olds is provided by individually licensed family child care providers. BC terms unregulated providers caring for a maximum of two children or a sibling group “licence not required” (LNR). Local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) offices offer a voluntary registration process for LNR providers to become “Registered LNR providers”. Registered LNR providers receive a higher child care subsidy rate than licence not required providers that are not registered.

A general election in May 2017 brought a change of government to British Columbia. The new NDP government had made a commitment to significant changes in child care. The new government rapidly began to introduce reforms to child care including revision of parent fee subsidy levels (the Affordable Child Care Benefit), reduced parent fees (reduced more for infants and toddlers than three to five year olds) supported by operational funding to services earmarked for this purpose, and piloting of substantially operationally funded services to deliver child care at a maximum parent fee of $10 a day, as per the election commitment.

In February 2018, the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia signed the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, effective for a three year term from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020. Over the course of this first phase three year agreement, British Columbia will have received almost $153 million dollars from federal funds. The funds were committed to initiatives including accessibility, quality improvement and supporting underserved communities.

The Yukon summary notes:

Regulated child care is under the aegis of Health and Social Services, whereas kindergarten is the responsibility of the Department of Education and part of the public school system.

Kindergarten part day or full day is offered to children who are five years old as of December 31st of the school year. Yukon Education supports early learning and early intervention by offering kindergarten programs but attendance is not mandatory.

Four year old kindergarten is called Early Kindergarten. There is a full day Early Kindergarten program at the Whitehorse Francophone School. In some rural communities there are part day Early Kindergarten programs for four year olds (3.8 years old as of September 1st) that are combined in blended grade classrooms.

The Department of Education also supports the Learning Together program. It provides a school based drop in early learning program for children aged birth to five years with their caregivers at no cost.

Regulated child care of 0 – 12 year olds is for-profit and non-profit with for-profit services predominating. There are no publicly operated programs.

Regulated family child care homes are termed “family day homes” and are individually licensed.

The Yukon has an appointed community advisory board.

In February 2018, the Canada-Yukon Early Learning and Child Care Agreement was signed by the territorial and federal government. The agreement provides $7.2 million over three years to Yukon to contribute to quality improvement, training, professional development, accessibility and affordability, among other initiatives.