General News

County increasing licensed child care spaces across the region

May 22, 2025   ·   0 Comments

BY BRIAN LOCKHART

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The province has increased the region’s licensed child care space allotment by an additional 1,778 spaces by 2026.

This local increase delivers on the Federal-Provincial Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement, helping Ontario reach its target of creating 86,000 spaces for children under five by the end of 2026.

With the increase, the County of Simcoe will be able to create up to a total of 4,859 new spaces across the region, including those that have been created since 2022.

To date, the County has approved 2,519 spaces for creation since 2022 and intends to develop 2,340 more by December 31, 2026. Of these remaining spaces, 303 are reserved for pre-determined, school-based programs and 2,037 will be created in community-based locations.

With an additional $16.5 million, these spaces are created through cost-based funding and start-up grants.

A $4.6 million commitment has been made to support infrastructure improvements.

Pre-qualified operators were invited to apply for these additional spaces with the application accepted from Apr. 16 to May 5, 2025. Spaces will be awarded with consideration given to system stabilization, location, provincial expectations, program size, and viability of the proposed program.

To enhance accessibility and transparency, a Children’s Services Dashboard was created on the County’s open data portal, found at open.simcoe.ca.

The Children’s Services Dashboard provides insights into the region’s early years and child care system. It allows residents and community partners to access data on licensed child care, EarlyOn Child & Family Centres, CWELCC-directed growth approvals to date, and the Early Development Instrument.

The dashboard offers a valuable perspective on both the growth and demand for early years and child care services throughout Simcoe County.

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