The care economy is fundamental to a truly inclusive, sustainable and economically prosperous country. Current governments, however, appear willfully ignorant of this fact—and the realities of millions of care workers who’ve been running flat out for the last six years. This reinforces the myth that women’s labour is not essential to the economy, that the care economy itself is not the foundation of a strong and resilient country. It also ignores the assault on critical public services and creeping “profitization” that is weakening Canada’s social safety net.
On May 29, 2026, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives hosted a Care Economy Roundtable to shine a light on these developments and mobilize support behind decent work for care workers and quality care for us all.
Care workers, unions, civil society groups, advocates and researchers from diverse sectors came together to discuss the common challenges confronting care workers and potential policy solutions and strategies for strengthening high-quality public care services in Canada.
Several priorities for collective action emerged, including efforts to improve job quality, workforce retention, and to strengthen public and non-profit financing and delivery. A consistent message throughout the roundtable was that we need to change the narrative about the care economy:
Recognizing care as a larger public good is a fundamental step in building a new approach that places care for life and the planet at the heart of public policy.
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About the author
Katherine Scott
Katherine serves as the director for the CCPA’s gender equality and public policy work. She has worked in the community sector as a researcher, writer and advocate over the past 20 years, writing on a range of issues from social policy to inequality to funding for nonprofits.
