Kerry McCuaig

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  • Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
If governments don’t address equitable access to affordable care, inequities will harden and the intergenerational cycle of poverty will deepen. Children play at a child-care centre in Stouffville, Ont., May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Child‑care affordability is coming at the expense of equity — and it’s time governments acted

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto; Michal Perlman, University of Toronto; Nina Howe, Concordia University, and Petr Varmuza, University of Toronto

The $10-a-day plan was meant to give every child an equal start in life, but right now, the families who need care the most are being left behind.
For too many Canadian households, September means resuming the annual hunt for affordable, reliable child care. The Blessed Chiara Badano Child Care Centre in Stouffville, Ont., is run by a non-profit and offers before- and after-school programs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Why child‑care vouchers aren’t the answer for working families this fall

Daniel Foster, University of Toronto and Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Vouchers shift responsibility from public systems to individual families, leaving access to child care in the hands of private companies.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks after reaching an agreement with the federal government in the $10-a-day child-care program deal in Brampton, Ont., in March 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Staffing shortages risk Ontario’s $10‑a‑day child care

Emis Akbari, University of Toronto and Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Ontario must seize the promise of Canada-wide early learning and child-care funding before it becomes another missed opportunity.
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a school destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The lasting scars of war: How conflict shapes children’s lives long after the fighting ends

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto and Emis Akbari, University of Toronto

The impact of wars on children is vast and multifaceted. The trauma inflicted is enduring and will shape the rest of their lives — and by extension, the societies in which they and we live.
Affordability targets have been surpassed with $10-per-day child care the norm in much of the country, but depending on where you live, finding care can be onerous. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits a child-care centre in Dartmouth, N.S. on April 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark

Canada‑wide child care: It’s now less expensive, but finding it is more difficult

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto and Emis Akbari, University of Toronto

The Early Childhood Education Report offers detailed profiles capturing how each province and territory are doing with implementing Canada-wide early learning and child care.
Canada is preventing provinces and territories from using federal child-care dollars to transform schools into one-stop centres for young children. (Pexels/Yan Krukov)

Why doesn’t Canada let schools provide child care?

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Canada has much to learn from other countries about better ways of providing learning and care for children.
Almost as many trained early childhood educators work outside licensed child care as in it. Many say they would return to the field if offered decent work. (Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)

Children across Canada deserve a professional early childhood education workforce

Emis Akbari, University of Toronto and Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Staff recruitment and retention challenges aren’t seen in public child-care centres, where educators are paid substantially more, are unionized and have professional development opportunities.
Ontario is creating far below the 200,000 to 300,000 early learning and care spaces needed to address the demand that will arise as parent fees decline. (Benson Low/Unsplash)

What Ontario parents really need to know about the new early learning and child care agreement

Emis Akbari, University of Toronto and Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Among provinces, Ontario is the least generous supporter of its childhood educator workforce. Parents pay the price in available child-care spaces if a staffing recruitment crisis does not improve.
The Sept. 20 election call may place Canada’s long-awaited national child-care plan at risk. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canadian election 2021: Will the national child‑care plan survive?

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

We enter this election with eight signed child-care agreements and question marks over the fate of those deals if the Liberal’s gamble on a majority government fails.
In Québec, the biggest child care provider by far is schools. Here, children raise their hands at a care centre in Montréal in August 2006. CP PHOTO/Ian Barrett

Ottawa’s $10‑a‑day child care promise should heed Québec’s insights about balancing low fees with high quality

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

As provinces and territories beyond Québec develop early learning and care plans, they should be aware of the pitfalls of taking shortcuts in response to parent demand.
Wiarton Willie, pictured with Premier Doug Ford on Groundhog Day, cannot yet predict what Ontario may do to full-day kindergarten. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ball

Full‑day Kindergarten is what Ontario needs for a stable future

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Nine years in from its start date, full-day kindergarten is doing its job laying foundational learning for the future of individual children and the province at large.
Prince Edward Island ranks first in Canada’s Early Childhood Report 2017; Nunavut scores lowest, devoting only 0.9 per cent of its budget to early childhood education. (Shutterstock)

Canada must invest more in early childhood education, says new report

Kerry McCuaig, University of Toronto

Schools across Canada should ‘grow down’ and offer two years of full-day preschool, according to a new report. This would allow mothers to work, improve child outcomes and reduce income inequality.

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