Up to 400 daycare centres could be shut down in Toronto affecting up to 25,000 children, according to a city staff report.
The report says parents are also facing the prospect of a 10 per cent hike in daycare fees, along with the threat of 2600 lost subsidies.
It all adds up to a desperate situation that has the city looking to the province for funding help.
"If the province does not step up to the plate, we are going to lose half of our child care in the next two years. That is not an exaggeration," warned Jane Mercer, Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.
Coun. Janet Davis says even those that can afford daycare will have a difficult time finding a centre if the spots are lost.
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti, who heads the mayor's child care task force, sees dark days ahead without a significant injection of provincial cash.
"It's going to collapse (without provincial funding)," he said. "There is no way that we can sustain the costs."
Mammoliti says the city needs at least 100 million to solve the daycare crisis.
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