Lower fees and more spaces with the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) System

Lower fees and more spaces with CWELCC

The Province of Ontario signed the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement on March 28, 2022, with the Government of Canada. This agreement will lower fees for children under six years old and provide more accessible and high-quality child care for Ontario families. The Children Services team is working diligently to translate the updated requirements and funding allocation guidelines for CWELCC and has supported all of our partner child care operators to sign up for the new system.

In 2022, families with children under the age of six began receiving fee reductions, which have reduced average child care fees in Ontario by 50 per cent. Ontario’s plan provides for another reduction in child care fees in September 2024, and a final reduction to $10-a-day child care, on average, by September 2025.

Even these lower fees are not affordable for every family, so the fee subsidy program remains in place for lower-income families. CWELCC will also provide additional support for children with various vulnerabilities and special needs.

In addition, the CWELCC system includes the creation of 86,000 new licensed child care spaces, including more than 15,000 licensed child care spaces created since 2019. The agreement will also support new early childhood educators and improve compensation for Registered Early Childhood Educators in licensed child care programs.

We welcome this momentous and transformative day, positively supporting families and the Early Years and Child Care sector.

Watch for future updates about Early Learning and Child Care in Greater Sudbury.