Growth by Design was a three-year research project (2023–2026) focused on understanding the barriers and opportunities to expanding not-for-profit and public child care in Canada.
The 2021 Federal Budget marked a transformative milestone in Canadian social policy, committing almost $30 billion over five years to establish a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system. This investment enabled the federal government to sign initial five-year bilateral agreements with all 13 provinces and territories, creating a national framework focused on reducing fees, creating over 250,000 new spaces, and strengthening the early childhood workforce.
This spotlight paper examines the role of public delivery in building a universal ELCC system in Canada. Drawing on Canadian data and international experience, it highlights the benefits of public delivery, reviews recent trends across provinces and territories, and identifies policy actions needed to remove barriers and support the expansion of publicly delivered licensed child care.
Child Care Now is asking the House of Commons Finance Committee (FINA) to recommend a larger investment in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program as part of the federal government’s plan to make Canada strong, and to provide sufficient funding to implement the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Frameworks. Child Care Now’s…
CIBC, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, says that expanding access to affordable and publicly-funded child care is crucial to increasing mother’s labour force participation. In a new report, CIBC Thought Leadership states that, although the wage gap persists between mothers and women without children, it has been narrowed due to the expansion of affordable…
A recent decision by the Government of Prince Edward Island to reduce funding for pedagogical support staff in child care programs has alarmed the PEI and Canada-wide child care community. The pedagogical support program in PEI provides funding for staffing beyond ratio-levels, enabling educators to engage in paid preparation time and providing additional support to…
On October 23 and 24, 2025, Child Care Now’s Educators Matter Project held a National Symposium in Ottawa. Participants gathered to continue the work of developing proposals to all levels of government on how to strengthen the early learning and child care (ELCC) workforce. Participants included members of the National ELCC Workforce Policy Table, representatives…
The federal government’s spring economic update has heightened fears that Prime Minister Carney’s plan to “Build Canada Strong for All” will exclude women by failing to invest sufficiently in the expansion and strengthening of Canada’s child care program, says Child Care Now, Canada’s national child care advocacy association. “It is well-established that when families can’t…
Eight community-based centres that have long supported early childhood educators (ECEs) across Nova Scotia are closing after the provincial government eliminated their funding in the 2026–27 budget. “The decision to cut a $1.05-million grant has sparked concern across the child care sector, with educators and advocates warning of lasting impacts on workforce quality, accessibility of…
A new publication by Donna S. Lero and Sharon Hope Irwin that exposes the impact of the COVID pandemic on children with disabilities in child care in Canada provides important insight into what governments and the sector must do to make licensed programs truly inclusive of all children. When the pandemic struck in March 2020,…
End of content
End of content