Cyndie Caron has been eagerly awaiting a subsidized daycare spot for her daughter since the child’s birth. Now approaching the 12-month mark, the Quebec City resident is concerned that she may have to wait another year or even longer before securing a spot in her local area.
Returning to work part-time as a teacher, Caron currently relies on a private daycare twice a week in a different neighborhood. However, the non-subsidized spot costs $70 per day, significantly higher than the subsidized rates in Quebec before tax credits, putting financial strain on her family.
Caron expressed her desire to transition back to full-time work, emphasizing the temporary nature of the financial burden. She is just one of many families facing similar challenges, particularly in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood, where 600 children are on the waitlist for subsidized daycares, also known as a Centre de la petite enfance (CPE).
With the provincial election approaching, Caron is among the parents carefully selecting their representatives. Advocates highlight the difficulties in accessing the subsidized system as a crucial campaign issue.
Recently, a decision by Quebec’s minister of families to not authorize 80 daycare spaces planned for a real estate project in the area has exacerbated the shortage in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood, according to advocates. This move prompted Québec Solidaire (QS) candidate Étienne Grandmont to hold a news conference in late August to criticize the decision.
Grandmont pointed out that there are 4,000 children on the daycare waiting list in the Quebec City region alone and advocated for reintroducing the proximity criteria, which prioritizes children residing in the same neighborhood or postal code as a CPE. This criterion is no longer considered following Quebec’s law on equitable access to child care services, which took effect in 2025.
The centralized system now determines the admission priority for all daycares across Quebec based on specific criteria. In response to concerns raised during the election campaign, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) pledged to deliver additional child-care spots, convert private child-care spots to subsidized ones, and create new subsidized spots. They also proposed extending parental leave for fathers and introducing transferable paid leave for relatives.
Various political parties offer different approaches to address the daycare shortage issue. The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) promises financial support to families who choose to keep young children at home, while the Parti Québécois (PQ) plans to open 10,000 new subsidized daycare spots within four years. The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) aims to establish 5,000 new subsidized daycare spots within five years and convert 10,000 non-subsidized spots into subsidized ones.
Advocates like Marjorie Peyric from Ma Place au Travail stress the importance of investing in child care as a long-term investment in the province’s future. The organization is actively promoting equitable, affordable, and high-quality child care and advocating for increased awareness of child care issues during the electoral campaign.
Peyric emphasized how the inability of parents to return to work due to daycare challenges impacts everyone and should be a central focus in the election discussions. She highlighted the financial strain on families during parental leave and urged for more attention to be directed towards child care issues in the current electoral climate.