TORONTO – The Ontario government is creating an additional 53,000 new, affordable licensed child care spaces by December 2026, according to a press release.
In March 2022, the province agreed to federal-provincial agreement to deliver an average of $10 a day child care by September 2025.
As part of that agreement, the province announced a targeted plan to create new licensed child care spaces, with a focus on increasing access to families across Ontario.
“We are delivering savings directly to families while increasing access to child care spaces in communities small and large,” said education minister Stephen Lecce.
New spaces will be allocated to communities using a model that incorporates demographics, socio-economic indicators, and existing licensed child care capacity. The new spaces will be part of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system and includes a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit centres.
To ensure child care spaces are also created in locations and for populations most in need — including for children with special needs, Indigenous and Franco-Ontarian communities — Ontario is launching a $213 million grant program for new and existing operators.
The one-time grants, prioritizing regions with historically low rates of space availability, will help child care operators offset the initial costs of expanding or creating spaces, such as purchasing equipment or renovating facilities.
To date, 92 per cent of Ontario’s licensed child care sites have enrolled in the CWELCC system.
