Canada · https://decisionscalc.com/ca/tools/cost-of-raising-a-child-calculator/
Cost of Raising a Child in Canada
A year-by-year estimate from birth to 18: everyday costs for each age band, childcare, an optional housing share, and, if you qualify, the official Canada Child Benefit counted as income. Every default is sourced and dated below, and the result sits next to the most-cited estimate for Canada — it is our model, not an official cost.
Cost to age 18
Where the money goes
Year by year
The most-cited figure for Canada
About $293,000 from birth to 17 for a middle-income two-parent family, as reported by RBC (February 2026) and attributed to Statistics Canada. Status: to verify: the Statistics Canada table was not located, and other figures in circulation range from about $254,000 to over $320,000
Published figures measure different things: some include housing and childcare, some stop at 17 or run to 21, some price a minimum standard and others average spending, and their prices come from different years. That is why we show it next to your result rather than as "the" cost.
What the defaults are built from
- Everyday costs (food, clothing, activities, transport, health and the rest, excluding housing and childcare): Our estimate based on the ~$293,000 birth-to-17 figure for a middle-income two-parent family reported by RBC (February 2026) and attributed to Statistics Canada, after removing our housing and childcare defaults. The Statistics Canada table behind it is still to verify. Because the bands are calibrated to it, the default scenario lands on that total by construction — the match is not an independent check.
- Childcare: Default is the $10-a-day target under the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements (about $2,600 a year full-time). Not every family has a $10-a-day space yet and market fees are far higher, so enter what you actually pay.
- Housing: Our assumption: an extra bedroom's share of rent, taken as 15% of Statistics Canada's average asking rent for a 2-bedroom ($2,130 a month, Q2 2026) per child.
- Canada Child Benefit: The Canada Child Benefit maximum is $8,157 a year per child under 6 and $6,883 aged 6 to 17 for July 2026 to June 2027. It is income-tested and falls as family net income rises; these are maximums (canada.ca, checked 2026-10-29).
| Age band | Everyday cost per child per year (our estimate) |
|---|---|
| Ages 0–4 | $10,140 |
| Ages 5–11 | $11,930 |
| Ages 12–17 | $14,320 |
| Ages | Canada Child Benefit, eldest (per year) | Each additional child |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | $8,157 | $8,157 |
| 6–17 | $6,883 | $6,883 |
How the estimate works
For each year of the child's life the calculator adds the everyday cost for that age band (scaled by the cost level), childcare for the pre-school years you choose, and the housing share if you switch it on, then takes off the Canada Child Benefit for that age. Each year is raised by the inflation rate from today, so the total is in the money of the years it is spent; the line beneath it gives the same total in today's money.
Three simplifications matter. More than one child is modelled side by side, each from birth, with no discount for hand-me-downs or shared rooms. Childcare stops when school starts, so after-school and holiday care are not included. And the benefit is counted at its maximum rate, which income tests reduce or remove for many families.
The levers that move the total
Childcare is the line that swings most: a few years of full-time care at market prices can rival everything else in the first decade, and subsidies or funded hours change it more than any other single choice. After that, the teenage years cost the most in everyday spending. Housing depends on whether a child actually changes where you live — if you already have the room, switch it off.
For the first year in detail, use the baby cost planner; for what comes after 18, the college cost calculator.
Compare two scenarios
Snapshot your current numbers, change any input, then snapshot again to see the difference side by side.
No scenarios saved yet — enter your numbers above, then click Save as A.
| Metric | Scenario A | Scenario B | Difference |
|---|
What changes in Canada
- The Canada Child Benefit is tax-free and income-tested: it is recalculated each July from the previous year's family net income, so the amount you receive changes with your tax return, not with the child's needs.
- The Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements aim for $10-a-day regulated childcare, but spaces are rationed and waitlists are long. Whether you get a space matters far more than which province you live in.
- Provinces add their own child benefits and childcare rules on top of the federal ones, so the same family can receive noticeably different support in Quebec, Ontario or British Columbia.
- Saving through an RESP attracts the Canada Education Savings Grant on contributions, which is the one government top-up most families can capture on money they are setting aside for the child anyway.
Data reference (Canada): Everyday costs: our estimate based on ~$293,000 birth to 17 (RBC, February 2026, attributed to Statistics Canada; to verify). Childcare: CWELCC $10-a-day target (to verify; market fees vary). Housing: our assumption of 15% of Statistics Canada average 2-bedroom asking rent ($2,130/mo, Q2 2026) per child. Canada Child Benefit maximum $8,157 under 6 / $6,883 aged 6-17 (July 2026-June 2027; canada.ca, checked 2026-10-29) · figures as of 2026-10 · Canada Child Benefit maximums checked against canada.ca on 2026-10-29; the spending bands, childcare and housing lines are our estimate based on the named sources, not individually verified. General information, not advice.. See our methodology for how every figure is sourced and dated.