Ontario parents of children aged five and under in child care will start getting rebates in May as part of a $10.2-billion deal the province has signed with the federal government.
The rebates, retroactive to April 1, will be for a fee reduction of up to 25 per cent and are set to land in the middle of Ontario's election campaign.
Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially announced the deal in Brampton, Ont., today, making Ontario the final province to sign on to the federal government's plan to bring child-care fees down to an average of $10 a day across the country by the end of 2026.
Parents are set to see a further cost reduction in December, when fees will be reduced _ on average _ by 50 per cent, with further cuts slated for September 2024 to bring Ontario to an average of $10 a day by September 2025.
The deal also has Ontario creating 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.
More coming.