{
  "title": "The State of Licensed Child Care in Canada 2026 — province-level dataset",
  "publisher": "MapleCub",
  "url": "https://www.maplecub.ca/reports/state-of-child-care-2026",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "as_of": "2026-07-07",
  "notes": [
    "Counts are visible licensed programs after deduplication (290 duplicate records merged).",
    "Registry scope differs by province: BC licenses family homes individually; ON home child care is agency-based; QC home care runs through coordinating offices and is not individually listed.",
    "Published capacity: only QC, AB and NS publish licensed capacity as open data. AB capacity includes school-age care.",
    "children_0_4: Statistics Canada Table 17-10-0005-01, July 1 2025 estimates.",
    "Google presence signals matched conservatively (name agreement required); they undercount.",
    "Fee rules verified 2026-07-05 against official provincial sources (see maplecub.ca/guides/child-care-costs)."
  ],
  "totals": {
    "licensed_programs": 19569,
    "geocoded": 19534,
    "communities": 2033,
    "one_option_communities": 1021,
    "centres": 16189,
    "family_homes": 3380,
    "with_google_rating": 6215,
    "google_reviews": 132162,
    "with_website": 7652,
    "forward_sortation_areas": 1416,
    "published_licensed_capacity": 479782,
    "children_0_4_jul2025": 1802628,
    "official_registry_ids_verified": 13590
  },
  "provinces": [
    {"code": "BC", "name": "British Columbia", "licensed_programs": 5702, "centres": 3849, "family_homes": 1853, "geocoded": 5702, "communities": 217, "one_option_communities": 63, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 35.9, "published_licensed_capacity": null, "children_0_4_jul2025": 216910, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 26.3, "with_google_rating": 1031, "avg_google_rating": 4.61, "google_reviews": 22219, "with_website": 1559, "forward_sortation_areas": 190, "inspection_open_data": "per-facility only", "parent_fee_2026": "CCFRI reductions up to $900/mo; $200/mo floor; $10-a-day at designated sites"},
    {"code": "ON", "name": "Ontario", "licensed_programs": 4374, "centres": 4209, "family_homes": 165, "geocoded": 4374, "communities": 570, "one_option_communities": 283, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 33.8, "published_licensed_capacity": null, "children_0_4_jul2025": 720586, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 6.1, "with_google_rating": 2074, "avg_google_rating": 4.46, "google_reviews": 49747, "with_website": 2965, "forward_sortation_areas": 495, "inspection_open_data": "per-facility only", "parent_fee_2026": "$22/day CWELCC cap through Dec 31 2026"},
    {"code": "QC", "name": "Quebec", "licensed_programs": 3774, "centres": 3774, "family_homes": 0, "geocoded": 3774, "communities": 547, "one_option_communities": 297, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 36.2, "published_licensed_capacity": 237634, "children_0_4_jul2025": 411925, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 9.2, "with_google_rating": 1886, "avg_google_rating": 4.53, "google_reviews": 29768, "with_website": 1453, "forward_sortation_areas": 407, "inspection_open_data": "enforcement (penalties) open data", "parent_fee_2026": "$9.65/day at subsidized providers; tax credit up to 78% elsewhere", "subsidized_installations": 2788},
    {"code": "AB", "name": "Alberta", "licensed_programs": 2912, "centres": 2771, "family_homes": 141, "geocoded": 2912, "communities": 239, "one_option_communities": 108, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 63.9, "published_licensed_capacity": 222932, "children_0_4_jul2025": 262923, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 11.1, "with_google_rating": 869, "avg_google_rating": 4.6, "google_reviews": 23243, "with_website": 1068, "forward_sortation_areas": 154, "inspection_open_data": "open data", "parent_fee_2026": "$326.25/mo flat fee full-time (~$15/day)"},
    {"code": "SK", "name": "Saskatchewan", "licensed_programs": 1320, "centres": 450, "family_homes": 870, "geocoded": 1320, "communities": 177, "one_option_communities": 129, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 75.9, "published_licensed_capacity": null, "children_0_4_jul2025": 68675, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 19.2, "with_google_rating": 91, "avg_google_rating": 4.39, "google_reviews": 917, "with_website": 133, "forward_sortation_areas": 43, "inspection_open_data": "none", "parent_fee_2026": "$217.50/mo flat ($10/day) under 6"},
    {"code": "MB", "name": "Manitoba", "licensed_programs": 1139, "centres": 802, "family_homes": 337, "geocoded": 1104, "communities": 166, "one_option_communities": 73, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 66.5, "published_licensed_capacity": null, "children_0_4_jul2025": 80298, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 14.2, "with_google_rating": 247, "avg_google_rating": 4.35, "google_reviews": 5722, "with_website": 403, "forward_sortation_areas": 65, "inspection_open_data": "none", "parent_fee_2026": "$10/day regulated maximum (4-10h, funded facilities)"},
    {"code": "NS", "name": "Nova Scotia", "licensed_programs": 348, "centres": 334, "family_homes": 14, "geocoded": 348, "communities": 117, "one_option_communities": 68, "pct_programs_in_top5_cities": 41.4, "published_licensed_capacity": 19216, "children_0_4_jul2025": 41311, "programs_per_1000_children_0_4": 8.4, "with_google_rating": 17, "avg_google_rating": 4.5, "google_reviews": 546, "with_website": 71, "forward_sortation_areas": 62, "inspection_open_data": "open data", "parent_fee_2026": "fixed reductions up to $23/day off provider fee; not at $10/day"}
  ],
  "inspection_transparency": {
    "AB": {"records": 15566, "facilities": 2874, "inspections": 11770, "follow_ups": 2274, "complaint_triggered": 1522, "window": "2024-07 to 2025-12"},
    "NS": {"records": 645, "facilities": 339, "annual": 328, "unannounced": 317, "window": "2010-11 to 2025-08"},
    "QC": {"administrative_penalties": 730, "facilities": 321, "total_penalty_amount_cad": 699500, "window": "2023-01 to 2025-09"},
    "per_facility_only": ["ON", "BC"],
    "none": ["SK", "MB"]
  }
}