Exploring Toronto’s Child Care Expansion Journey Since 2022
Toronto has made significant strides in child care accessibility since the implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program in 2021. This analysis explores the city’s progress in expanding child care spaces from 2022 to 2025.
Child Care Expansion in Toronto
Between 2022 and 2025, Toronto created a total of 3,943 new child care spaces. As a result, the overall average coverage rate rose from 41.5 spaces per 100 children to 46.5 spaces. However, over half of the city’s children still lack access to licensed child care services.
Key Improvements
- Average child care coverage increased by 5 percentage points.
- Child care deserts decreased from 15% in 2022 to 8% in 2025.
- Areas with adequate coverage rose from 3% to 9% over the same period.
Despite such improvements, areas with inadequate coverage saw only a slight increase from 83% to 84%. The 12 neighborhoods classified as child care deserts are primarily in poorer regions, including northwest and southern Etobicoke and central Scarborough.
Challenges Affecting Growth
While there has been notable progress in expanding child care spaces, challenges remain. The only significant growth has come from home-based child care providers, which increased their share from 6% to 9%. In contrast, non-profit licensed child care spaces decreased slightly from 56% to 53%.
Key barriers to effective expansion include:
- Difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified child care workers.
- Limitations in capital infrastructure affecting new space creation.
Although federal funding has reduced child care costs, provincial support remains essential for expanding access, particularly in the non-profit sector.
Geographic Disparities
The distribution of child care spaces across Toronto highlights significant inequalities. Most of the neighborhoods with adequate child care coverage are concentrated in affluent downtown and mid-town areas. In total, only 14 out of 158 neighborhoods in Toronto have reached adequate coverage levels.
The neighborhoods typically classified as child care deserts are situated in less affluent areas. These neighborhoods report low average after-tax incomes, amplifying the need for targeted expansions.
Improvements in Vulnerable Areas
Efforts to bridge the gap between affluent and low-income neighborhoods show some positive trends. In areas designated as Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs), the percentage of children living in child care deserts dropped from 29% in 2022 to 13% in 2025.
Nonetheless, no NIA neighborhoods met adequate coverage criteria during this timeframe. Non-NIA areas saw their percentage with adequate coverage grow from 2% in 2022 to 10% in 2025, indicating a broader, though uneven, improvement.
The Path Ahead
Toronto still faces considerable challenges in achieving universal child care access. A comprehensive approach is necessary, addressing issues related to workforce development, capital investments, and targeted services for communities in need.
Child care has become significantly more affordable in Toronto, but ensuring it is accessible to all families remains a priority. Continued progress is essential for the well-being of the city’s children and for fostering equitable growth across all neighborhoods.
