Child care in Canada Highlights • In 2011, almost half (46%) of parents reported using some type of child care for their children aged 14 years and younger in the past year. [...] For the purpose of this report, the term ‘child care’ is used to refer to non-parental care, that is, the care of children by someone other than a parent or guardian.4 Use of child care across Canada Almost half of parents reported using child care for their children In 2011, almost half (46%) of parents reported using some type of child care for their children aged 14 years and younger in the pas [...] Rates were also high, though somewhat lower, for parents with children aged 5 to 7. These children are typically in the school system, and would generally need care in the morning hours before the start of school, and/or after the end of the school day. [...] It is the only province to have a universal child daycare program, where the cost of daycare is subsidized (Stalker and Ornstein 2013).7 At 58%, parents in Quebec were most likely to have used child care in the year preceding the survey (Chart 2). [...] While parents were not asked about reasons for using child care, rates of child care were generally highest among dual-income earner families.8 In particular, 71% of households where both partners9 worked for pay used child care for a preschool child, and 49% did the same for a school-aged child between the ages of 5 and 14.