This baby has been on Que.'s daycare waitlist since he was an embryo -- and he's not alone

Despite repeated promises to open more daycare spots, many Quebec families are still struggling to find accommodations for their young children.

"I've been crying so often because of all the anxiety that this has brought me. I could lose my job if I don't go back to work as of September," Maggie Lanteigne told CTV News.

Lanteigne's 10-month-old, Enzo Levesque, still doesn't have a place in daycare -- and time is ticking down, as her maternity leave ends in two months.

Levesque has been on the province's waitlist since his mother was five weeks pregnant.

In the spring, Lanteigne started looking frantically for anywhere within 30 kilometres of her South Shore home.

"I haven't found anything since then, and I call approximately 25 to 30 daycares a week," she said.

The 29-year-old mom posted her desperate plea for help on social media. When messages came pouring in, she quickly learned she wasn't alone.

"I got over 160 messages on Instagram from parents saying that they've been on the list, for, some have been on the list for four years," she said.

The government says more than 32,000 young children are on the daycare waiting list. However, there are reports that it's actually double that number because it doesn't include who aren't born yet.

"We are really worried right now," said Marylin Dion, a spokesperson for Ma place au travail, a group that advocates for parents like Lanteigne.

She says the organization hears from at least one family a day.

"Now what we are hearing is that families that are more far from Montreal -- I would say, for example, Gaspésie, Iles des Madelines, Cote Nord -- it's so hard to have a daycare that they have to move, they have to leave," said Dion.

Quebec's Families Minister was not available for an interview, but in a statement to CTV News, the ministry wrote that "since October 2021 [...] 10,000 subsidized daycare spaces have been created [and] 35,00 non-subsidized places have been converted into subsidized places," noting that it's more than what was done under previous governments.

The Legault government has promised 37,000 subsidized daycare spots by 2025.

Critics say this is a good solution, but question how the province will meet its goal given the shortage of educators.

According to the FIPEQ union, more than 3,000 daycare workers left the field in 2021-2022.

"You know you can have all the beautiful infrastructure that you want,but if there's no one to take care of the kids, then the problem is not going to go away," said Dion.

Meanwhile, Lanteigne is already worrying about what will happen if she has more children.

"Do I have to plan, start looking for a daycare years in advance? This is crazy," she said, adding that parents shouldn't have to choose between their job and their children.