Fate of national daycare in the hands of Canadian voters

FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plays with children at the daycare in Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean school in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, July 27, 2021. REUTERS/John Morris

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadians will face a stark choice on how to tackle a childcare crisis when they go to the polls on Sept. 20, with the ruling Liberals vowing to push ahead with a subsidized daycare system and the rival Conservatives offering tax credits to parents.

The dire need for affordable, reliable childcare in Canada was laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic, as daycare and school closures forced many parents, mostly women, to cut back work hours or leave jobs to care for children, hurting productivity.