Ontario's Doug Ford signs on to Trudeau's $10-a-day daycare plan, clearing way for a jolt to labour participation rates

Ontario will join the federal government's national daycare program after the premier ended his holdout.

Ford said in a statement that the government wouldn't sign a deal that didn't work for Ontario parents. We are delivering a deal that will keep money in the pockets of hard-working parents.

The average cost of child care in Ontario will be brought down to $10 per day by the federal government over the next six years, according to the leaders at a conference on March 28.

Toronto has some of the most expensive daycare costs in the country and inflation has emerged as a potent political issue, so Ontario was the last province to sign. Conservative governments in provinces such asAlberta,Saskatchewan,Manitoba, and NewBrunswick all joined in the belief that affordable daycare can be a powerful engine for economic growth because it frees up parents to better participate in the labour force.

It couldn't come at a better time. Businesses and consumers are feeling the pinch of inflation and input costs. A labour economist says that women who are most likely to benefit from a comprehensive child-care subsidy need government support to create the right conditions that would allow them to return to work.

It means more purchasing power. More purchasing power means more business. We don't know what the government's plans are for serving the underserved and expanding access to licensed care. In the coming days, we will see that.

The deal will take effect in May with an average 25-per-cent reduction in child-care fees and another 25-per-cent reduction by December, eventually reaching an average of $10 a day. The Ontario government says that families will save over $1 billion in the next two years. The province and the federal government will support compensation for early childhood teachers.

More than 86,000 new daycare spaces for children will be created by the end of the five year period, according to the agreement.

Trudeau said that the economic growth that is unlocked when mothers no longer have to choose between having a family or advancement in their career is a benefit not just to families.

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