The “Illusion” of Childcare Reform: The Child Care Expense Deduction, Tax Expenditures, and Social Policy

In most historical work on Canadian childcare policy, the tax system is treated as an afterthought. This article does the opposite by considering the introduction and operation of the Child Care Expense Deduction (cced), introduced in 1971, as part of the history of childcare policy and politics. The cced had a significant impact on how childcare policy unfolded in the decades following its introduction. By offering cash transfers to some working parents, and disproportionately to higher-income families, the cced helped both to reinforce the idea that childcare was a private responsibility and to subsidize the private and for-profit childcare market. Over time, supported by a growing constituency of interests who benefited from tax breaks, the tax-based approach to childcare support became entrenched. The cced was among the combination of factors that helped forestall the possibility of a universal childcare program in Canada.