Ottawa short 7,400 affordable childcare spaces to meet demand, report shows

Approximately 8,500 children under the age of 5 are waiting to access childcare spaces in the City of Ottawa within the next six months, as the city only meets 76 per cent of the demand for affordable spaces.

The Community Services Committee will discuss the “Child Care and Early Years Service System Plan 2025-2029” on Tuesday, establishing eight strategic priorities for early learning and licensed childcare programs and services over the next five years.

Staff say the number of children under the age of 5 registered on the City of Ottawa’s registry and waitlist system and waiting for a childcare space has increased 300 per cent since 2019.

“Families are also registering their children on the registry and waitlist system earlier, knowing that high demand makes securing a space increasingly difficult,” the report says.

The report says the implementation of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system (CWELCC) in 2022 has “significantly increased demand” for affordable childcare spaces.

“The sector is meeting approximately 76 per cent of the demand for affordable childcare spaces, with the greatest shortages affecting the infant age group, as well as in Indigenous-led and French-language childcare,” the report says.

The Canada-Ontario early years and childcare agreement sees childcare fees reduced to $22 a day for children under the age of 6 this year, with fees reduced to an average of $10 per day by March 2026.

There are 435 childcare centres in the City of Ottawa, including 10 operated by the city, along with 888 active home childcare service providers.

Staff say the current supply of Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care-funded affordable childcare spaces meets about 76 per cent of demand for children under the age of 5.

“To fully meet the demand for affordable childcare for children 0 to 5 years old, an estimated 7,400 additional CWELCC-funded spaces would need to be created across the city,” according to staff.

There are 16,420 affordable childcare spaces for children under the age of 3 and 6,576 affordable before-and-after school childcare spaces for children ages 4 and 5 under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program in Ottawa. The city also has 2,585 affordable CWELCC-enrolled French-language childcare spaces for children under 3 and 225 Indigenous-led childcare spaces.

The 10 neighbourhoods in Ottawa underserved from a childcare access perspective are: Alta Vista, Bayshore/Crystal Bay, Bells Corners, Blossom Park, Chapman Mills/Rideau Crest, Cyrville, Halfmoon Bay/Stonebridge, Hunt Club West, Nepean East and Portobello South. Staff say 15 Ottawa neighbourhoods have no French-language care for children under the age of 3, and 29 neighbourhoods are considered underserved for French-language care.

The eight priorities for the City of Ottawa include increasing “equitable access to affordable, high-quality” Early Learning Child Care programs, strengthening the ELCC workforce with recruitment and retention of staff, and enhancing the system to “better meet the needs of children with special needs and their families.” The city also plans to “improve and simplify how families find and gain entry” to childcare services.