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A new survey from the YMCA of Canada showing a majority of Canadians are in favour of publicly funded child care is intended to shore up support for a federal care program as some provinces’ commitment to the deal appears to be wavering ahead of a critical deadline.
In 2021, the federal government pledged $30-billion to create 250,000 new child care spaces and reduce costs to an average of $10 a day over the next five years.
Every province and territory signed on to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement.
In the lead up to the federal election earlier this year, many in the child care sector worried that, if elected, a Conservative government would scrap the program and offer families tax credits instead.
In response to those concerns, the YMCA of Canada, the largest provider of not-for-profit child care in the country, commissioned a survey to gauge Canadians’ support for publicly funded child care, which was released on Wednesday.
The survey’s findings, which show a majority of Canadians prefer keeping government funding for child care in place, are important considering two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, have yet to sign extensions to the federal deal, said Peter Dinsdale, president and chief executive of YMCA Canada.
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The survey of more than 4,000 Canadians, conducted in January and February by the Environics Institute for Survey Research in partnership with YMCA Canada and YWCA Canada, found that 68 per cent of Canadians support the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care program.
Only 28 per cent of respondents said they would prefer giving parents a tax break.
The survey also asked Canadians to gauge the importance of several reasons for governments providing funding for child care. When it came to ensuring that women can return to work after having children, 48 per cent of respondents said it was critically important, while 44 per cent of respondents said making life more affordable for parents was critically important.
Only 22 per cent said that encouraging young couples to have children was a critically important reason for the program.
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The full report, Public support for child care programs in Canada, which is based on the survey mentioned above, is available here.