A recently published Ministry of Education report shows that while there has been a net increase in the total number of RECEs in Ontario child-care programs, there has been a larger increase in the number of non-ECE staff in daycares.

In 2022, when Ontario signed on to the national program aimed at lowering fees for parents and expanding availability of care, 58.9 per cent of full-time staff in child-care programs were RECEs -- not far off the 60 per cent goal that Ontario agreed to in its deal with the federal government.

But now, that share has declined to 56 per cent.

Alana Powell, the executive director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario, said recruitment is an issue, but retention has been a huge challenge.

"Unfortunately, it's not totally surprising, because RECEs have been telling us for years that wages and working conditions are their biggest challenge, and the reason that many of them are leaving the sector," she said.

"When we hear from early childhood educators about their decisions to leave the workplace, it does come (down) most often to wages and total compensation, too -- not just their wages, but access to extended health benefits, dental, vision care, opportunities to participate in an RRSP or a pension program."

Ontario has implemented a wage floor for RECEs, set at $24.86 an hour in 2025. Advocates and some operators have said that not only do the wages need to be higher, but there needs to be a wage grid as well as pensions and benefits in order to make a dent in recruitment and retention challenges.

The total number of full-time RECEs in Ontario child-care programs rose by 3,488 since March 31, 2022, while the number of non-RECE staff rose by 4,426 during that time, the ministry's 2024 annual report shows.

It suggests that an earlier overall decline in the numbers of RECEs -- government documents have previously said the number decreased by seven per cent between 2019 and 2021 -- has been reversed, but perhaps not as quickly as the ministry would like.

The previous workforce document, from January 2023, said that about 14,700 new RECEs would be needed by 2025-26, when the program's full fee reductions are in place. In Ontario, child-care fees at centres in the national program will be an average of $19 a day, capped at $22, with a plan to further reduce them to $10 a day by March 2026.

Andrea Hannen, executive director of the Association of Day Care Operators of Ontario, said some centres are struggling to find and keep enough staff to allow them to operate at full capacity, let alone contemplate expansion.

"It's probably the biggest barrier to, in a lot of cases, to the viability of a lot of licensed centres, because if you don't have all your rooms open you're paying for space that's not really generating any revenue for you, and that's whether you're commercial or not-for-profit," she said.

"It's also ... certainly a barrier to expansion of the federal government's $10-a-day program."

Ontario has committed to creating 86,000 new spaces in the program by the end of 2026, and has so far added 27,993 net new spaces, the recent ministry report said.

Jenna Sudds, federal minister of families, children and social development, said Ontario still has "quite a bit of work" to do to meet that target.

The federal government in the spring announced up to $1 billion in low-cost loans for public and not-for-profit child-care providers to build new spaces and renovate their existing centres, but loans aren't expected to start being awarded until spring of 2025.

"I do want to be clear that the province has adequate funds and has committed to creating those 86,000 spaces," Sudds said in a recent interview.

"The dollars that we've put forward through this low-cost loan fund, absolutely we hope they help, and I'm sure that they will help, but we still expect the province to be doing their part and to be putting in the work to make sure these spaces are created for parents."

Ontario says that a limit on the percentage of for-profit spaces in its deal with the federal government is hampering growth, with Peel Region alone having to turn down more than 2,000 potential spaces under the $10-a-day program because the operators were for-profit.

"Not-for-profit providers play an important role but our municipal partners have told us that they cannot fill the demand alone, which is why we are advocating for more flexibility," Education Minister Jill Dunlop wrote in a statement.

"The cost of delivering child care in Ontario is among the highest in Canada, which is why I'm engaged in collaborative discussion with Minister Sudds to provide flexibility and reasonable funding that recognizes our higher costs."

But Sudds said in her interview that she won't allow Ontario to increase the percentage of for-profit providers.

"What I can say very clearly is that I will not be removing the cap," she said.

"Undoubtedly, there are many for-profit operators in Ontario and in other parts of the country that are in this because they care deeply about providing high-quality care for families, and they genuinely care deeply ... but where there is venture capital, private equity, these are not necessarily operators who are here for the best interests of our children."

The Canadian Press reported last month that several Toronto daycares that appear connected to a venture capital firm are leaving the $10-a-day program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024.