Business leaders urge corporate Canada to support daycare as ‘nation-building investment’

A coalition of prominent Canadian business leaders and philanthropists has called on corporate Canada to support high-quality early childhood education, framing it as a vital "nation-building investment." The open letter, signed by nearly two dozen influential figures, urges the private sector to take a leading role in ensuring access to affordable and effective child-care services across the country. The initiative was spearheaded by B2ten, a Montreal-based organization originally established to assist Olympic athletes during the 2010 Vancouver Games. Over time, B2ten expanded its mission to include developing programs that promote active play among children in over 1,000 child-care centers nationwide through its subsidiary, Active for Life. JD Miller, president of B2ten, explained that the letter aims to raise awareness and highlight the significance of early childhood education for Canada's long-term prosperity. The call comes amid concerns about the progress of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan, which aimed to bring down daycare fees to an average of $10 per day by this year. However, several provinces have not met this target, with Ontario capping fees at $22 a day and Alberta at $15. Additionally, the number of new child-care spaces created under the plan is around 80,000 short of the original goal of 250,000 by spring. Morna Ballantyne, executive director of Child Care Now, emphasized the need for corporate backing to ensure governments follow through on their commitments. She noted that the current economic climate, influenced by trade tensions with the United States, makes this timing particularly crucial. The federal government recently allocated an additional $5.4 billion in child-care funding, bringing total investments since 2021 to over $58 billion. However, this funding is set to expire in 2028, raising doubts about the sustainability of the program beyond that date. Among the signatories of the letter are notable figures such as businessman and philanthropist Stephen Bronfman, Dr. Ronald Cohn, CEO of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, André Desmarais, deputy chairman of Power Corporation of Canada, Nathalie Larue, an executive vice-president at Desjardins Group, former federal attorney-general Peter MacKay, and Anne-Marie Hubert, who previously led EY’s Eastern Canada operations and currently serves as chair of the Canadian chapter of the Institute for Human Technology and a board member of B2ten. Anne-Marie Hubert expressed hope that the letter would shift the conversation surrounding child care from being viewed solely as a social issue to one with substantial economic implications. She added that the goal is to inspire business leaders to support quality child care through various means, including lobbying provincial governments, providing child-care options for employees, and collaborating with underserved communities. The letter underscores the numerous benefits associated with high-quality child care, such as fostering children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, enhancing school readiness, and increasing parental workforce participation. It also asserts that each dollar invested in early childhood education generates considerable economic and social returns. Catherine Haeck, a Montreal-based economist specializing in the economics of early childhood education and development, highlighted the uncertainty surrounding future funding, emphasizing the need for sustained commitment from both public and private sectors to maintain progress in expanding accessible and quality child-care services.