Open letter from business leaders calls for early childhood education to be treated as essential infrastructure
An open letter released September 1, 2026, signed by a group of 22 Canadian business leaders, calls for early childhood education to be treated as core economic infrastructure.
Pointing to decades of Canadian research about the benefits of early childhood education, the letter “grounds its case in established science” that demonstrates how early learning and child care pays off for child development, family stability and economic productivity.
Child Care Now Executive Director Morna Ballantyne welcomed the letter and says she is hopeful that the federal government will pay attention to it.
“We have been saying for many decades that public investments in early childhood education and care have multiple benefits that spread through the economy,” she said. “The more leaders from across Canada’s economic sectors carry that same message, the harder it is for governments to disregard it.”
Importantly, the signatories of the letter emphasize that child outcomes depend on quality, built on three pillars:
- Well-trained and well-supported early childhood educators
- Safe, stimulating and inclusive environments
- Learning through play.
Also, the signatories also say “accessible and dependable childcare can increase women’s workforce participation, improve families’ economic security and help employers recruit and retain skilled workers.”
Signatories include:
- Business leader and philanthropist Stephen Bronfman;
- Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children CEO Dr. Ronald Cohn;
- Global Vice Chair and Head, Office of The CEO at CIBC and former Prime Minister’s son, Mark Mulroney;
- President & CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Candace Laing;
- Former federal attorney-general Peter MacKay; and
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Brain Canada, Viviane Poupon.