--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/addressing-the-early-childhood-educators-labour-shortage-in-canada-challenges-solutions-and-impacts/" title: "Addressing the Early Childhood Educators Labour Shortage in Canada: Challenges, Solutions, and Impacts" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-01T11:29:32+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-01T11:29:32+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "child care" - "child development" - "CWELCC" - "early childhood educators" - "labour shortage" - "maternal labour supply" - "wage increase" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Fiscal Policy" - "Labour Markets" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Addressing the Early Childhood Educators Labour Shortage in Canada: Challenges, Solutions, and Impacts Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/addressing-the-early-childhood-educators-labour-shortage-in-canada-challenges-solutions-and-impacts/ # Addressing the Early Childhood Educators Labour Shortage in Canada: Challenges, Solutions, and Impacts [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-02-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Shariati, Alisaleh. 2024. “Addressing the Early Childhood Educators Labour Shortage in Canada: Challenges, Solutions, and Impacts.” CSLS Research Report 2024-02. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/addressing-the-early-childhood-educators-labour-shortage-in-canada-challenges-solutions-and-impacts/ ## Author: - Alisaleh Shariati Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2024-02 May 2024 45 pages ## Related research [Investing in Aboriginal Education in Canada: An Economic Perspective Andrew Sharpe, Jean-François Arsenault February 2010 | Report 2010-03 | 37 pages](https://csls.ca/research/investing-in-aboriginal-education-in-canada-an-economic-perspective/) [Decline and Fall: Trends in Family Formations and Fertility in Canada since 2001 Tim Sargent May 2024 | Report 2024-04 | 56 pages](https://csls.ca/research/decline-and-fall-trends-in-family-formations-and-fertility-in-canada-since-2001/) [The Economic Returns of Accessible and Affordable Child Care in Canada Alisaleh Shariati June 2026 | Report 2026-01 | 71 pages](https://csls.ca/research/june-2026-research-paper/) [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Closing the First Nations Education Gap in Canada: Assessing Progress and Estimating the Economic Benefits — An Update Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2023 | Report 2023-01 | 101 pages](https://csls.ca/research/closing-the-first-nations-education-gap-in-canada-assessing-progress-and-estimating-the-economic-benefits-an-update-2023-01/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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A key reason for this is the lack of qualified Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) needed to staff these additional spaces. This shortage is partly due to the low wages in this occupation. This report investigates a proposal for an across-the-board 25 per cent wage increase for qualified ECEs. It finds that this proposed wage increase would be sufficient to attract the necessary number of ECEs to support the expansion of the child care system in Canada. However, other considerations such as investment in physical capacity and training for the child care workforce would also be needed for expansion. The report also reviews the social benefits of the expanded child care network. It projects that with the estimated cost of $1.2 billion needed to raise ECE wages by 25 per cent, investment in higher ECE wages would have a benefits-to-cost ratio between 1.88 and 2.06, due to the economic benefits it generates. Lastly, the report discusses the potential long-term effects of this expansion of the child care system on children’s development, quality of care, and fertility rates. Le programme pancanadien d’apprentissage et de garde des jeunes enfants pourrait ne pas réussir à fournir les 250 000 places de garde supplémentaires d’ici 2026 prévues dans le budget de 2021. L’une des principales raisons est le manque d’éducatrices et éducateurs de la petite enfance (EPE) qualifiés nécessaires pour doter ces places additionnelles. Cette pénurie s’explique en partie par les bas salaires de cette profession. Ce rapport examine une proposition visant une hausse salariale générale de 25 % pour les EPE qualifiés. Il conclut que cette hausse salariale proposée suffirait à attirer le nombre d’EPE nécessaire pour soutenir l’expansion du réseau de garde d’enfants au Canada. Cependant, d’autres mesures, telles que l’investissement dans la capacité physique et la formation de la main-d’œuvre en garde d’enfants, seraient également nécessaires à cette expansion. Le rapport passe également en revue les avantages sociaux du réseau élargi de garde d’enfants. Il prévoit que, avec un coût estimé à 1,2 milliard de dollars nécessaire pour hausser les salaires des EPE de 25 %, cet investissement générerait un ratio avantages-coûts compris entre 1,88 et 2,06, en raison des retombées économiques qu’il engendre. Enfin, le rapport examine les effets à long terme potentiels de cette expansion du réseau de garde d’enfants sur le développement des enfants, la qualité des soins et les taux de fécondité. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-02-1.pdf)