Author: Helen Ward, President of Kids First Parent Association of Canada (KidsFirstCanada.org)
The ludicrous unfairness of a family with an income reportedly of $500,000 per year getting super-subsidized daycare is just the tip of the iceberg of inconvenient facts the heavily government-subsidized daycare lobby does not want you to know.
Let’s check out some of the hidden data on costs, executive salaries, low enrolment, spending, and high vacancy rates.
COSTS — The donations Eby makes to “cover the difference” in his fees before and after the $10/day designation barely touch the real cost of his kids’ daycare. He was very heavily subsidized before $10/day. The cost is not $10/day. More like $100 to $200/day or $26,000 to $52,000/year. For comparison, Sweden spent $27,000/year per child in daycare 20 years ago.
NOT-FOR-PROFIT DAYCARE EXEC PAY — Did you know that top staff at ‘not-for-profit’ BC YMCA — reportedly Eby’s daycare provider — make more than him? The top staffer took in over $350,000 in 2025, with nine other staff paid over $160,000, according to Canada Revenue Agency data.
For other high-flying daycare execs: $200,000–$249,000; for nine others: between $80,000 and $160,000 for Vancouver Society of Children’s Centres, whose charitable purpose is “reduction of poverty”; $180,000 (UBC); and $117,000 (SFU).
ENROLMENT — Politicians trying to outdo each other promising more ‘spaces’ need to ask: how many kids are enroled in existing spaces? Guess.
The system discriminates against the vast majority of kids and parents because they do not use it and get $0 child care funding.
Statistics Canada lumps preschool and daycare centre enrolment together. This obviously inflates numbers, but even so, Canada-wide, for those ages 0 to 5, under one third — 32.2 per cent — are enrolled. In Quebec, it’s 46.1 per cent, Ontario 24.2 per cent, BC 31.8 per cent, Alberta 32.1 per cent.
Ages 6–12, only 2.2 per cent nationally are enrolled in daycare centres: Quebec, .7 per cent; Ontario, 1.7 per cent; BC, 2 per cent; and Alberta, 3 per cent.
SPENDING — Ages 0 to 5 enrolment is up only 1.2 per cent from 31 per cent nationally in 2019. This increase was achieved by massive spending increases. Federal spending alone is $63.4 billion since 2021. For 2024 alone, federal and provincial daycare spending was almost $12.5 billion.
That would be $220/month per child aged 0 to 12 if the cash was divided evenly with no income testing. Most get $0.
VACANCIES — The low enrolment rates are not due to a shortage of spaces. Despite loud claims of daycare shortages and long ‘waitlists’, there are currently over 11,500 new, funded, non-operational spaces, according to BC government data. Recent media reports reflect this.
Moreover, 24 per cent of licensed child care providers in the Lower Mainland report having vacancies for children aged 0–36 months, with 30 per cent reporting vacancies for children aged 30 months–5 years.
These vacancies continue the record of 30 per cent or more BC licensed spaces being vacant from 2003 to 2017 before $10-a-day was launched, according to government data.
Politicians can take the opportunity to review child care policy and end the discrimination and waste. Child care is not only daycare centres. Make policy respect family diversity with inclusion and equity: Fund the Child. Direct all child care funds to families based on the age and number of children and family income.