Which Costs More: Child Care or University Tuition?
Hennessy’s Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA’s Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index
- $11,100
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Ontario in 2012. Compare that to the $7,180 average cost of university tuition fees in Ontario in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $10,884
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in British Columbia in 2012. That’s double the $5,015 average cost of university tuition fees in B.C. in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $9,900
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Alberta in 2012. The average cost of university tuition fees in Alberta in 2012/13 was $5,883. [Sources 1, 2]
- $6,732
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Saskatchewan in 2012. That’s about the same as the $6,017 average cost of university tuition fees in Saskatchewan in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $8,328
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Nova Scotia in 2012. That’s more than the $5,934 average cost of university tuition fees in Nova Scotia in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $9,276
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Newfoundland in 2012. That’s considerably more than the $2,649 average cost of university tuition fees in Newfoundland in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $7,836
Average annual cost of child care for two kids in New Brunswick in 2012. That’s more than the $5,917 average cost of university tuition fees in New Brunswick in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $6,792
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Prince Edward Island in 2012. That’s more than the $5,470 average cost of university tuition fees in PEI in 2012/13. [Sources 1, 2]
- $5,172
Average annual cost of child care for a toddler in Manitoba in 2012. That’s more than the $3,729 average cost of university tuition fees in Manitoba in 2012/13. [Source][Source]
- $1,824
The annual child care bill for all parents in Quebec in 2012, thanks to that province’s $7 a day flat rate child care program. Tuition Quebec is also more affordable: it was $2,774 in 2012/13 for average undergraduate tuition. [Sources 1, 2]
- $100
Amount of the federal government’s monthly payment to families with children under the age of six instead of investing in a universally affordable Canadian child care plan. [Source]
- 70,000
Number of newly employed Quebec moms in 2008, thanks to that province’s child care program. Research shows that for every dollar Quebec invests in affordable child care, it brings back $1.05 into the economy. [Source]
