When the federal government released its Spring Economic Statement, many in the child care sector were left asking the same question: where is the plan for expansion?

While the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system has made remarkable progress in reducing fees for families, the Spring Economic Statement contained no new investments to address the growing shortage of licensed child care spaces across the country.

For Building Blocks for Child Care (B2C2), this omission highlighted an urgent reality: affordability alone is not enough. Families cannot access affordable child care spaces that do not exist.

In response, B2C2 has submitted a formal brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance as part of the 2026 Pre-Budget Consultations, urging the federal government to make child care expansion a central priority in the next federal budget.

Canada Has Built Affordability. Now It Must Build Capacity.

The CWELCC system has transformed child care affordability for families across Canada. Lower fees have increased demand and enabled more parents, particularly women, to participate in the workforce.

But demand is now outpacing supply.

Across Ontario and much of Canada, waitlists remain long and many communities continue to struggle with a shortage of licensed spaces. The challenge is no longer simply operating funding. It is financing the physical infrastructure needed to create new child care spaces.

The Problem Is Not a Lack of Interest

B2C2’s recent research shows that non-profit child care operators want to expand.

In its provincial survey, Willing, But Not Able?, the majority of operators reported a strong interest in creating new spaces, yet many remain unable to move forward because of barriers such as limited access to capital funding, workforce shortages, lack of suitable space, and uncertainty about long-term operating funding.

These findings suggest that Canada does not have an expansion problem because providers are unwilling. It has an expansion problem because the financing tools needed to support growth do not yet exist at the scale required.

Child Care Is Economic Infrastructure

Affordable child care is often discussed as a social program. It is also one of Canada’s most important economic development strategies.

Research consistently shows that accessible child care supports labour force participation, strengthens local economies, increases family incomes, and improves long-term outcomes for children. Economists Michael Baker, Jonathan Gruber, and Kevin Milligan have demonstrated that public investment in child care generates significant economic returns through increased employment and tax revenues.

If Canada is serious about economic growth, workforce participation, and productivity, child care infrastructure must be treated with the same importance as housing, transportation, and other essential public infrastructure.

B2C2’s Recommendations

In its submission to the Finance Committee, B2C2 calls on the federal government to:

• Renew and strengthen CWELCC agreements beyond 2026.
• Immediately implement the child care expansion financing program announced in Budget 2024, including $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in grants.
• Reinstate and significantly expand federal child care infrastructure funding.
• Develop a Canada-wide child care infrastructure financing system using tools such as low-interest loans, loan guarantees, social infrastructure bonds, and partnerships with organizations such as CMHC.
• Continue prioritizing non-profit and public expansion.
• Support a national workforce strategy to address staffing challenges and support sustainable growth.

From Affordability to Expansion

The Spring Economic Statement missed an important opportunity to advance the next phase of Canada’s child care system.

The success of CWELCC has created unprecedented demand for licensed child care. Meeting that demand will require governments to move beyond affordability and focus on expansion.

Canada has built the operating system for child care. It must now build the infrastructure system needed to complete it.

B2C2 looks forward to working with federal decision-makers to ensure that the 2026 Federal Budget includes the investments and financing tools necessary to create the child care spaces that families, communities, and Canada’s economy need.