Trudeau, Ford announcing new $13.2 billion child-care deal

Ontario has signed a $13.2 billion child-care deal with the federal government that the prime minister said Monday will cut child-care fees in the province in half by the end of the year.

CBC News reported Sunday, based on government sources, that the province and federal government had struck a deal following months of negotiations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford are appearing together Monday morning to formally announce the agreement at a child care centre in Brampton, Ont.

The Ontario deal is the last one needed to fulfil Trudeau's pledge to bring child-care fees down to an average of $10 per day in every province and territory by the end of 2026. The government is hoping to implement $10-a-day child care, although that rate isn't expected to happen until September 2025. 

Trudeau said the new program will offer a savings of an average of $6,000 per child, "real money for families" at a moment when a range of household costs are going up.

He also called the deal a "historic moment" now that all provinces and territories have signed child-care deals.

"Child-care is becoming a reality for all Canadians," he said.

In the interim, parents can expect their fees to drop by an estimated 25 per cent. Here's what will happen in the coming months:

The deal outlines a plan to further slash rates in the coming years. Here's what the longer-term outlook includes:

The deal will also see Ontario create 86,000 child-care spaces, though that number includes more than 15,000 spaces already created since 2019.

Ontario had wanted more certainty beyond the life of the original five-year deal — though the federal government's budget last year said funding for the program after the fifth year would be $9 billion annually — and got a commitment of $2.9 billion for year six.