April Fleet arrives at the daycare parking lot every morning, where her 14-month-old daughter has already spent considerable time in the car. This is due to the fact that the nearest daycare center with an available spot is located in Bedford, N.S., which is a 45-minute drive from their residence in Middle Musquodoboit, a rural community.
Fleet resides in an area identified by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) as a child-care “desert,” where there are insufficient daycare spots for the number of children. She expressed concern about her baby spending over 10 hours weekly in the car, engaging in activities like watching shows on an iPad and singing songs to keep her content during the commute, which at times results in car sickness.
This situation is common for many parents in Nova Scotia who must travel long distances to access child care services. According to the CCPA, 34 percent of preschool-aged children in the province live in child-care deserts, while 36 percent reside in areas with inadequate coverage.
The remaining 30 percent of children reside in communities meeting the federal government’s child-care target set in Nova Scotia’s agreement with Ottawa, which mandates at least 5.9 daycare spots per 10 children. Nova Scotia’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, Brendan Maguire, affirmed the province’s commitment to expanding child-care coverage.
Maguire stated that the government is actively working on 32 daycare expansion projects worth $50 million in provincial funds. Since 2021, Nova Scotia has created 8,910 new child-care spaces but lost 1,653 spots, as per an online dashboard report.
The minister expressed confidence in fulfilling the pledge to create 9,500 additional early learning and child-care spaces by March 2026. Recent announcements indicate the creation of 1,157 new daycare spots in rural areas, including plans for new facilities at Acadia University, St. Francis Xavier University, and Cape Breton University.
Christine Saulnier, CCPA’s Nova Scotia director, commended the government’s efforts but emphasized the need for continued progress. She advocated for a centralized agency to oversee child-care expansion systematically, ensuring that spaces align with demand and simplifying the growth process for nonprofit daycare providers.
Fleet acknowledged the ongoing improvements in the child-care system but highlighted the challenges her family faces due to the lack of available daycare options. She mentioned considering tough decisions like potential job changes and relocations to address the issue.
Despite the progress, Fleet is hopeful that her daughter will secure a spot at the nearby daycare facility in the coming months. Until then, the daily routine of prolonged commutes to and from daycare persists.