Early childhood education and care in Canada 2023

This Childcare Resource and Research Unit report provides 2023 data on early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Canada, including a section on each province and territory, 21 comparative tables, and a section on the state of ECEC in Canada in mid-2024.

The municipal role in child care

The municipal role in child care report by the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) is a series of papers that examine municipalities and their ability to manage, deliver and fund child care in Canada.

Child care for whom? A background paper for the Inclusive child care for all project

A paper supporting the Inclusive child care for all project activities.

Measuring matters: Assessing Canada’s progress toward $10-a-day child care for all

A new report co-authored by David Macdonald and Martha Friendly evaluates the first federal target of reducing fees by 50 per cent. “Seven jurisdictions now have set fees, and five jurisdictions are already at $10 a day or less, three years ahead of target!” says Macdonald.

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2021

Take a look at the Childcare Resource and Research Unit’s 13th compilation of cross-Canada, longitudinal data and information about regulated early learning and child care (ELCC), kindergarten and parental leave.

Not Done Yet: $10-a-day child care requires addressing Canada's child care deserts

A new report co-authored by David Macdonald and Martha Friendly delves into the need for specific and targeted expansion initiatives in addition to the affordability and accessibility actions outlined in each jurisdiction's CWELCC agreement.

A summary of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements and Action Plans

This companion document to the ECEC 2021 report provides a summary of selected elements (affordability, expansion, auspice and the workforce) of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care initiative (CWELCC) introduced in 2021. Note that a previous version of this paper was published in Novemb

Research, policy & practice

Quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC): State of play in the EU Member States based on the European Quality Framework

Hulpia, H., Bergeron-Morin, L., Sharmahd, N., De Pré, L., Vandenbroek, M., Devlieghere, J., Morabito, C., Dunajeva, J., & Crêteur, S., Network of Experts working on the Social dimension of Education and Training (NESET), 1 Jan 2024. Europe

Is universal early childhood education and care an equalizer? A systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence

Schmutz, R., Research in Social Stratification and Mobility , 17 Nov 2023. International

Unpacking the childcare and education policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from the Canadian province of Quebec

Mathieu, S., Journal of Childhood Studies, 26 Oct 2021. Quebec

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New CRRU publications

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2023

Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada 2023 is the Childcare Resource and Research Unit’s 14th compilation of cross-Canada longitudinal data and information about regulated early learning and child care (ELCC), kindergarten and parental leave. The report integrates administrative data provided by provincial/territorial officials (its primary source of information), data from Statistics Canada, from other research and information from public sources.

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Early Childhood Education and Care 2023: Summary and Analysis (Aug 2024)
Child care for whom? A background paper for the Inclusive child care for all project.. (Other publications, 13 Nov 2023)
A summary of the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements and action plans (April 2023)
What direction now? Ontario’s Funding and Management Guidelines for 2023 and beyond (Briefing note, 19 Oct 2022 )
Moving from private to public processes: A series on creating child care in Canada (Other publications, 2022)
One year later: Follow up results from a survey on COVID-19 and child care in Canada (19 Jan 2022)

Graphic for the issue file about Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements

This ISSUE file provides information on the federal budget ELEC commitments, Canada-wide developments and each province's/territory's agreement as announcements are made and policy and advocacy tools are developed.

CRRU’s blog, Child Care Canada Now, features views and opinions, reactions and actions by the CRRU team and guest authors on topical ECEC issues.

Early Childhood Education and Care 2023 publication cover

Access the newest version of CRRU's signature publication — a comprehensive collection of cross-Canada and longitudinal data from 1992 to the present.

The resources on this website - both those developed by the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) and those linked resources developed by others - focus on early childhood education and care, family policy and social issues. childcarecanada.org is intended for researchers, advocates, policy makers, service providers, students and parents.

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Resources for building a system of early childhood education and child care for all Canadians