One year later: Follow up results from a survey on COVID-19 and child care in Canada

The 2020 context and the first COVID-19 survey In the spring of 2020, almost all provincial/territorial governments, which hold the primary responsibility for child care in Canada, closed all or much of the supply of regulated child care, permitted and supported emergency child care for parents deemed to be “essential workers”, developed other financial supports for services, and established emerg. [...] Regarding child care, the “Government of Canada provided $625 million to address the reduced availability of child care spaces and the unique needs stemming from the pandemic”, the specific uses of which were outlined in bilateral letters of agreement. [...] As Canada takes the lessons of the pandemic into the child care system- building promised in the 2021 federal budget and Liberal platform in the 2021 federal election, it will be important to have the up-to-date information that comes from the capacity for ongoing data collection. [...] Importantly, one of the significant outcomes of the pandemic has been a political recognition of the failure of the current market-based child care regime in most of Canada. [...] Ultimately, the fragility of the workforce and the funding and policy to support it threatens the project of a publicly funded national child care program and must be addressed in order to develop strong child care infrastructure.