Less than half of daycare spaces promised by Ottawa have been created ahead of 2026 deadline

The launch of a new national daycare program fuelled high hopes among Canadian families three years ago, but new figures show Ottawa is still a long way from meeting its goal of offering affordable spaces to "all families who need it" by 2026.

Despite its budget of $30 billion over five years, the federal daycare program suffers from underfunding, according to analysts, stakeholders and the Ontario government.

They warn that, without additional investments, Ottawa's plan to create 250,000 new places at an average cost of $10 per day by the end of March 2026 may not be feasible.

According to the most recent figures obtained by Radio-Canada, the program has created child care spaces for 97,000 children since 2021 — just under 40 per cent of the overall goal.

The federal government has slightly more than two years left to create another 153,000 spaces and reduce their average cost to $10 a day in all provinces outside of Quebec, which already has a similar system in place.

Labour shortages and high inflation have made the target harder to reach, experts say.

A national daycare program was a flagship promise of Justin Trudeau's Liberals in the 2021 election. Political analysts predict their record on this front will be a key point of debate with the Conservatives in the coming federal election campaign.

The program is federally funded, but provinces and territories have adopted different strategies to fulfil their agreements with Ottawa. Some of the smaller provinces, such as Newfoundland, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, have created $10-a-day spaces already, while others — including Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia — have managed to bring down costs by half.

An expert who has studied the Quebec model said the Liberal government's project is particularly complex, given it relies on the collaboration of provinces and territories.

"In my opinion ... to develop such a vast network across Canada should take at least 10 years. Especially given the incredible labour shortage that we're facing," said Nathalie Bigras, an expert in early childhood education at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Some in government agree the program is facing headwinds.

"It's major work ... and I would suggest Rome was not built overnight, and this is a process. Hard things are hard, and this is one of those things," said federal Minister of Families Jenna Sudds.

"There are absolutely challenges, but I would say the good and the worth that we were able to achieve [with the provinces] really triumphs on that."

She said Ottawa will not budge from its 2021 promises and insisted the government is "on track" to meet them. She also rejected provincial requests for additional funding, arguing the provinces also need to inject their own funds to ensure the program's success.