Photo: The Canadian Press

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen.

A new report estimates that hundreds of thousands of women could get back into the labour force if the Liberals follow through on a pledge to create a national child care system.

The paper to be released Wednesday makes the case that federal spending to create a national program would "pay for itself" in the form of extra income tax, extra spending and reduced social costs as more parents entered the workforce.

There is also the potential for tens of thousands of construction jobs as new centres and spaces are built, along with an employment boost in the child-care sector as it expands.

Report author and economist Jim Stanford says the lack of accessible and affordable daycare is a key reason why fewer women in their 30s and 40s are in the workforce than men the same age.

He estimates that between 363,000 and 726,000 women in the "prime parenting age cohort" between 25 and 50 could join the labour force over a 10-year period as a national child-care program is developed.

Among them would be up to 250,000 women moving into full-time jobs.

Stanford's paper builds on previous research into the economic spinoffs of Quebec's publicly funded daycare system, but develops estimates based on how a national system might look.

The Liberals have promised to make a long-term spending commitment to create a national child-care system, seeing it as a key avenue to help women harder hit during the pandemic in what has been dubbed a "she-cession."

"Economists have agreed for years that child care has huge economic benefits, but we just can't seem to get the ball over the line in Canada," says Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work.

"I finally think the ducks are being lined up here and we can actually make this happen," he adds.

"This really is the moment when we can finally move forward, and it is a moment when Canada's economy needs every job that it can get."

Child-care centres, which often run on tight margins and rely on steep parental fees, couldn't keep up with costs during spring shutdowns and shed about 35,000 jobs between February and July. 

The worry Stanford notes is that many of the job losses will become permanent and more centres will close without financial assistance from governments.

Scotiabank economists Jean-Francois Perrault and Rebekah Young suggested in September that creating nationally what Quebec has provincially would cost $11.5 billion a year.