This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
"The need for a universal child care system has long been clear, and the pandemic made it more urgent than ever. We’ve seen growing public and political support during the pandemic. And today’s polling results show that voters are going to take this to the ballot box.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (14 Sept. 2021) — A new poll commissioned by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) confirms that child care is a priority issue for voters in this federal election.
82% of voters polled believe that more affordable and accessible child care should be a moderate, high, or very high priority for political parties. And nearly 8 in 10 agree that people should have access to affordable child care, no matter where they live (79%).
The poll, conducted by Abacus Data, shows that Canadians feel that child care should be both affordable and accessible, contributing to gender equality in the process.
Child care must be a priority for government, say voters
77% of voters feel that establishing a universal, publicly funded child care system should be at least a moderate priority for the next government.
This suggests that support for a universal public system has grown over the past year. In November 2020, a NUPGE-commissioned poll found that 58% of people supported, or strongly supported, a universal public child care system.
“Once again, Canadians have spoken: access to affordable, high-quality child care is a must,” said Larry Brown, NUPGE President.
“The need for a universal child care system has long been clear, and the pandemic made it more urgent than ever. We’ve seen growing public and political support during the pandemic. And today’s polling results show that voters are going to take this to the ballot box.”
Voter support for child care across party lines
And it's not just among progressive voters that universal, publicly funded child care is a priority. 64% of Conservative voters said it should be at least a moderate priority for the next government.
Notably, 34% of Conservative voters said they would be more likely to support a party that establishes a universal publicly funded child care system. This is interesting because the Conservatives are the only major political party to have not committed to universal child care, as NUPGE’s Federal Election Guide shows.
Voters see the value of child care
For years, research in Canada and from around the world has shown that access to high-quality child care is crucial for children, families, workers, and the entire economy. This poll shows that Canadians are familiar with these benefits — and they’re ready to see universal child care become a reality in Canada.
And voters know that access to child care is key to advancing gender equity. 77% agree that, when women can access high-quality and affordable child care, they are better able to participate and thrive in the workforce.
While there is strong support for child care across the board, people in Atlantic Canada, younger people, and Liberal and NDP voters are most supportive.
Vote for Better
To highlight 3 key issues in this federal election — child care, long-term care, and the climate crisis — NUPGE has created Vote for Better. We’ve seen too many broken promises and baby steps from governments when it comes to addressing these critical issues. We need action, and we need it now.
Learn more at voteforbetter.ca.
National Day of Action on Early Learning and Child Care
These poll results come in as people across the country are taking action to show their support for a universal, public system of child care.
Learn more about the day of action, and ways to get involved, on the Child Care Now website.
You can also read more about child care issues, and NUPGE actions, on our website.
Poll methodology:
The survey was conducted with 2,000 Canadian adults between the dates of September 9 to 12, 2021. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/-2.17, 19 times out of 20. The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.