Child Care Cost Less in 2023, but More Parents Say Spots Are Hard to Find: StatCan

A new report from Statistics Canada says child care was more affordable across the country in 2023, but parents are having a harder time finding it. The report released on Dec. 5 says expenses for children attending full-time centre-based child care decreased from an average of $663 per month in 2022 to $508 in 2023. It says the decrease occurred as many provinces and territories began implementing lower child-care fees. Meanwhile, the proportion of parents who reported having difficulty finding available child care increased from 53 percent in 2019 to 62 percent in 2023. Twenty-six percent of parents with children aged five and under who were not using child care reported that their child was on a wait list—up from 19 percent in 2022....