Families struggling to afford summer camp as inflation stretches budgets

Summer camp season has begun — but with inflation at record highs, summertime child care has become an extraordinary expense for families already overextended by a higher cost of living. 

Anneliese Lawton, a mother of three from Burlington, Ont., said that the gymnastics summer camp that her children normally attend isn't a financially viable option this year as their budget is stretched by inflation. The camp she had planned to send her two sons to costs $300 a week for each camper, a price she couldn't afford.

"As soon as I kind of put that through, I was like, crap, we can't afford for them to do this," Lawton said.

Instead, Lawton's sons, ages four and five, respectively, will attend a trampoline and tumbling camp in town for part of the week. 

A hired student will help with child care the rest of the week as Lawton juggles full-time remote work and a two-year-old.

"Going to Costco now is like a mortgage payment," she said. "So, with the increased cost of groceries and gas, it's basically impossible to afford these camps on top of it."

With inflation at its peak, summer camp — already a luxury for many families — has become increasingly out of reach as families are being forced to make difficult spending decisions. 

Canada's inflation rate hit 7.7 per cent last month, an almost 40-year high. Compared to May 2021, consumers were paying 48 per cent more for gas while food prices have gone up 9.7 per cent in the last year.

Just as parents have had to budget for higher costs, so, too, have summer camps across the country. In many cases, that means charging families more for registration.

Summer camp administrators across Canada have told CBC News that inflation has forced them to drive up their prices significantly, making their programs unaffordable for some families.

Camps rely on essentials such as gas for boats, natural gas for barbecues and food to provide meals to campers. Inflation has driven up the prices of these necessities significantly. 

Summer camps usually set their fees well in advance and make small, incremental changes to account for inflation, said Stephen Jackson, president of the British Columbia Camps Association. 

This year was different at Camp Bob, a co-ed Christian wilderness camp in Campbell River, B.C., where Jackson is executive director.

While camp fees usually increase by $5 to $10 per year, the camp upped its prices by $35 a week this year.