Newfoundland and Labrador Opinion

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COMMENTARY: Government childcare system wreaking havoc in Atlantic Canada

In 2021, the federal government committed $30 billion over five years to build a Canadawide early learning and childcare (CWELCC) system with the provinces. Now five years later, the evidence is in.

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As basic economic theory would predict, big subsidies significantly inflated demand, so the initial cost projections turned out to be underestimates. Moreover, significant shortages emerged as supply — weighed down by government inefficiency and bureaucratic control — failed to keep up. Consequently, the federal program, which was supposed to deliver taxpayer-subsidized $10-a-day childcare, has made it harder than ever for thousands of families in Atlantic Canada to find quality childcare.

Recently, Newfoundland and Labrador’s education minister said the $10-a-day childcare program is a “mess.” The initial target was to create 5,895 childcare spaces in the province, but only 2,751 have been created so far. The result? According to Statistics Canada, out of families using any form of childcare in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2025, a staggering........

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