Statistics Canada - Statistique Canada
Skip main navigation menuSkip secondary navigation menuHomeFrançaisContact UsHelpSearch the websiteCanada Site
The DailyCanadian StatisticsCommunity ProfilesProducts and servicesHome
CensusCanadian StatisticsCommunity ProfilesProducts and servicesOther links

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Media Room Search The Daily View or print The Daily in PDF format. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader The Daily archives Latest release from the Labour Force Survey Latest release from the Consumer Price Index Recently released products Latest economic indicators Release dates Get a FREE subscription to The Daily Information about The Daily The Daily
Monday, February 7, 2005

Child care

1994/95 and 2000/01

Over half of Canadian children were in some form of child care by 2000/01 and a quarter of them were in a daycare centre, according to a new analysis.

The proportion of children aged six months to five years who were in child care increased significantly between 1994/95 and 2000/01. In addition, during this six-year period, a shift occurred in the type of main child care arrangement used.

right click the chart to save it.

The use of daycare centres, as well as care by a relative, became more popular as main care arrangements than they were in 1994/95. At the same time, fewer children were being cared for in their own home or in someone else's home by a person who was not a relative.


Note to readers

This release profiles child care in Canada by examining child care use during 1994/95 and 2000/01, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).

The analysis covers children who were aged six months to five years at the time of the NLSCY interview that occurred during each period.

The NLSCY is a long-term study of children in Canada that collects information on a wide range of factors influencing the social, emotional, and behavioural development of children from birth to early adulthood. The survey, which began in 1994, is jointly conducted by Statistics Canada and Social Development Canada.

Definitions

In child care: refers to care a child received that was not from their mother, father or guardian. At each time period, the reporting parent (or guardian) responded to a question that asked whether or not they used child care while the reporting parent (and/or spouse) was at work or studying. Children were identified as being in child care if the reporting parent replied "yes."

Main child care arrangement: refers to the care arrangement the parent reported as being where the child spent the most hours per week.


Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth as reported by parents show that in 1994/95, 42% of children aged six months to five years were in some form of child care. Over the subsequent six-year period, the child care rate increased steadily to more than one-half of children (53%) by 2000/01.

Of all children in child care in 2000/01, 25% were enrolled in a daycare centre as their main care arrangement, up from about 20% six years earlier. The proportion of children who were looked after in their own home by a relative rose from 8% to 14%.

At the same time, the proportion of children who were looked after in someone else's home by a non-relative fell from 44% to 34%.

Increase in level of child care in most provinces

A significant increase in the level of child care during the six-year period occurred in virtually every province. Furthermore, in some provinces there was a move towards increased use of daycare centres as the main child care arrangement, while in others care in the child's home by a relative increased in popularity.

For example, in 2000/01, nearly 61% of children aged six months to five years in Quebec were in some form of child care, up from 44% in 1994/95. Of these children in child care, 41% were attending a daycare centre compared with 25% six years earlier.

Conversely, the proportion of children in Quebec who were going to someone else's home for care by a non-relative fell from 43% to less than 34%.

The situation was different in some of the other provinces. For example, in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000/01, 14% of children were attending a daycare centre and 16% were going to someone else's home for care by a non-relative. On the other hand, 29% were being looked after in the child's home by a relative.

In Saskatchewan, nearly 54% were going to someone else's home for care by a non-relative in 2000/01. Only 10% of children aged six months to five years in Saskatchewan were attending a daycare centre.

Time spent in child care varied provincially

Overall, the time that children aged six months to five years spent in their main child care arrangement changed little during the six-year period, averaging about 27 hours a week. Nor was there any substantial change during that time within each province.

The only exception was Quebec where parents reported their children spent, on average, 30.6 hours in child care in 2000/01, up from 28.5 hours six years earlier.

However, there were some interprovincial differences at both time periods. For example, in both 1994/95 and 2000/01, children in British Columbia were below the national average in the time they spent in their main care arrangement.

In 2000/01, British Columbia youngsters were in their main child care arrangement for 22.3 hours a week. On the other hand, their counterparts in the Atlantic provinces spent from 26.7 to 31.5 hours a week in their main care arrangement.

Child care rates increased regardless of background

The increase in the proportion of children in child care during the six-year period occurred regardless of the children's demographic background.

Children experiencing an increase in child care rates included: children aged one to five; children who lived with single- or two-parents; children who were living in lower or higher income households; and children in urban or rural communities.

In 2000/01, 85% of children aged six months to five years who lived with a single parent who worked or studied were in some form of child care. This was a significant increase from 78% in 1994/95.

Among children who lived in households with two parents who worked or studied, two-thirds (66%) were in child care in 1994/95. By 2000/01, this had increased to nearly 73%.

Data show that children in this age group were more likely to live in a household where both parents worked or studied in 2000/01 than they were six years earlier. Moreover, children were less likely to live in a household where their single parent neither worked nor studied.

right click the chart to save it.

Daycare centres were popular among single parents who worked or studied

Daycare centres were a popular main child care arrangement for households with single parents who worked or studied in both 1994/95 and 2000/01.

One-third (33%) of children in child care from households with a single working or studying parent were in a daycare centre in 2000/01, virtually the same proportion as six years earlier. An additional 31% of these children were cared for in someone else's home by a non-relative. Again, this was virtually unchanged from 1994/95.

The situation was slightly different in the case of children in child care from households where both parents worked or studied.

In 2000/01, nearly one-quarter (24%) of children in two working or studying parent households were in a daycare centre, up from 17% six years earlier.

By far, children in two working or studying parent households were more likely to be in someone else's home cared for by a non-relative. In 2000/01, some 36% of these children were in this type of main care arrangement, although this proportion was down from 46% six years earlier.

Furthermore, care at home by a relative increased in popularity over time. The rate for children from single working or studying parent households in this type of child care more than doubled from 8% in 1994/95 to 18% in 2000/01.

The proportion of children from households with two working or studying parents in this type of care increased from 8% to 12%.

Children from households consisting of a working or studying single parent spent more time in child care.

In 2000/01, these children averaged 32 hours a week in their main child care arrangement, compared with 27 hours for children who had two parents who worked or studied. In a five-day week, this amounted to about 1 more hour of child care each day.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4450.

For more information about the data collected during the first four cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (1-800-461-9050; 613-951-3321; ssd@statcan.gc.ca), Special Surveys Division.

Proportion of children in child care by demographic characteristics
  % in child care
  1994/95 2000/01
Total 41.9 53.2
Child age    
6 months to under 1 year 36.0 25.6.1
1 year 43.3 48.3
2 years 44.5 51.5
3 years 42.4 56.0
4 years 41.5 57.0
5 years 40.8 55.2
Province of residence    
Newfoundland and Labrador 36.4 54.1
Prince Edward Island 42.1 63.8
Nova Scotia 39.0 54.2
New Brunswick 39.1 57.1
Quebec 43.6 60.7
Ontario 43.8 53.1
Manitoba 42.4 48.6
Saskatchewan 44.9 55.3
Alberta 39.1 45.7
British Columbia 35.5 45.7
Family status    
Single-parent 39.0 60.1
Two-parent 42.4 52.1
Household income    
Below LICO 22.7 37.3
Equal or above LICO 48.8 57.1
Community type    
Urban 43.0 53.5
Rural 36.3 50.5
Parent(s) working or studying    
Single-parent 77.6 85.3
Two-parent 66.1 72.7
1.Indicates a coefficient of variation between 16.6% and 25%.
Note:Estimates in bold indicate statistically significant differences between 1994/95 and 2000/01 (p is less than or equal to 0.05).

Proportion of children six months to five years of age by main child care arrangement
  Someone else's home by a non-relative Someone else's home by a relative Child's home by a non-relative Child's home by a relative Daycare centre
  1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01
  %
Canada 43.6 33.9 14.2 17.1 14.2 9.5 8.1 14.4 19.9 25.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 19.51 16.21 20.71 22.4 25.01 18.7 19.11 28.9 15.82 13.81
Prince Edward Island 40.8 35.1 18.31 15.71 13.91 8.02 9.32 13.11 17.71 28.1
Nova Scotia 31.0 26.3 12.61 22.6 25.5 13.31 11.01 16.7 20.01 21.2
New Brunswick 40.4 34.6 17.21 18.7 14.81 12.6 7.32 12.3 20.21 21.8
Quebec 42.7 33.6 15.1 11.3 13.11 6.4 3.92 7.3 25.2 41.4
Ontario 44.2 35.8 12.4 18.4 13.2 10.1 11.2 16.9 19.0 18.8
Manitoba 51.4 37.6 17.81 18.8 10.81 7.71 6.41 13.7 13.61 22.3
Saskatchewan 57.4 53.5 15.71 15.6 10.52 9.91 4.42 10.8 12.11 10.2
Alberta 46.0 32.7 12.01 19.2 12.31 9.5 6.12 16.5 23.6 22.0
British Columbia 40.2 25.4 17.71 22.2 20.9 12.2 8.42 19.7 12.91 20.5
1.Indicates a coefficient of variation between 16.6% and 25%.
2.Indicates a coefficient of variation greater than 25% and less than or equal to 33.3%.
Note: Estimates in bold indicate statistically significant differences between 1994/95 and 2000/01 proportions within each type of child care arrangement (p is less than or equal to 0.05). The "other" type of main child care arrangement was excluded from this table due to small sample sizes.

Average number of hours per week spent in main child care arrangement
  1994/95 2000/01
Canada 27.0 27.3
Newfoundland and Labrador 26.3 27.51
Prince Edward Island 30.01 31.51
Nova Scotia 29.31 26.71
New Brunswick 27.6 29.11
Quebec 28.51 30.61
Ontario 27.3 27.11
Manitoba 24.9 26.01
Saskatchewan 25.2 25.5
Alberta 25.9 24.9
British Columbia 23.7 22.3
1. Indicates that the estimates are significantly higher than the lowest estimate (British Columbia ) at that time period ( p is less than or equal to 0.001).
Note: Estimates in bold indicate statistically significant differences between 1994/95 and 2000/01 (p is less than or equal to 0.001).

Proportion of children six months to five years of age in main type of child care arrangement, and average number of hours per week in main care arrangement, by parental work/study status
  Someone else's home by a non-relative Someone else's home by a relative Child's home by a non-relative Child's home by a relative Daycare centre Average number of hours/week
  1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01 1994/95 2000/01
  % % % % %   
Two parents, both worked/studied 46.0 36.1 14.6 18.3 14.4 9.6 8.0 12.4 17.0 23.7 26.8 27.1
Single parent worked/studied 34.3 30.8 13.51 10.4 9.51 7.8 8.11 17.7 34.6 33.3 30.2 32.3
1.Indicates a coefficient of variation between 16.6% and 25%.
Note: Estimates in bold indicate statistically significant differences between 1994/95 and 2000/01 by parental work status within each type of child care arrangement (p is less than or equal to 0.05).



Home | Search | Contact Us | Français Return to top of page
Date Modified: 2005-02-07 Important Notices