Halifax has among highest child care costs across Canadian cities: new study

A new report by a think tank says Halifax has some of the highest child care costs among major Canadian cities.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the median fee for daycare in Halifax was $24 a day per child as of April.

That puts Halifax as the sixth most expensive city for child care out of 35 major cities in the country.

Halifax’s median daycare fees were more expensive than those in Toronto, Oakville, Ottawa and all other Atlantic cities studied.

The think tank examined the progress provinces and territories are making on hitting the federal government’s target of having child care cost an average of $10 a day.

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Kenya Thompson, with Child Care Now Nova Scotia, says families in the province continue to struggle to find daycare they can afford.

She says the provincial government needs to significantly invest in the child care sector to subsidize fees and ensure parents with young children remain in the workforce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.