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Copyright of Canadian Public Policy is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Public Policy is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Given its unique demographic situation, and its desire to be in control of its own destiny, Quebec has evolved family policies that differ considerably from those of the rest of Canada. Quebec's tradition of civil law, in contrast to common law in the rest of the country, has meant that there was already a tradition of alternative forms of marriage in Quebec. The extent of cohabitation, along with the greater policy attention to family questions, has brought about a more Nordic model there in contrast to a more liberal model in the rest of the country. Attitudes differ considerably between Quebec and other provinces in terms of child-care (since 1997) and parental leave (since 2006). The Nordic model has helped Quebec to avoid particularly low fertility. Its child-care policy has been designed both to improve child welfare and to enhance women's opportunities in employment. Comparisons to other provinces indicate that women's paid work has benefited, but child development indicators are less positive. It may be that universal programs do not permit as much focus on disadvantaged children, where early intervention has a larger impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997 Quebec adopted a policy providing universal pre-school daycare for five dollars per day. Comparing Quebec to the rest of Canada, we use the 1996, 2001, and 2006 Canadian censuses to determine the impact of this policy on couples' strategies for combining employment and child care. As well as increasing female labour force participation, the policy reduced the number of families with a traditional division of labour, showing greater effects on common-law than on married couples. These effects, however, are considerably smaller than are differences related to the two parents' human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]