OTTAWA — Families Minister Jenna Sudds says provinces and territories signed $10-a-day child care agreements with the federal government with their “eyes wide open,” and Ottawa now expects them to make the program work. 

The minister’s comments come as some child-care operators in Ontario and Alberta are warning they may withdraw from the program, or even be forced to close altogether, if they don’t get more operating funds.

The federal Liberals budgeted $30 billion over five years to phase in the child-care program, with a target to create thousands of spaces with a $10-a-day fee by 2026.

Each province and territory signed an agreement with Ottawa to run the program in exchange for federal cash to help pay for it.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says it is a “huge amount of money” and Ottawa remains committed to making child care work.

But Freeland did not suggest that that commitment includes putting even more money on the table.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press