This article explores the dire situation of Ontario's child care system as it faces an impending deadline for its agreement with the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program. Despite receiving substantial federal funding, Ontario has fallen short on crucial benchmarks, leaving families struggling with long wait lists and unaffordable care. The article highlights the devastating effects of chronic staff shortages, including low wages, high turnover, and compromised quality of care. It also examines the impact on vulnerable children, particularly those with disabilities, who are often denied access to essential services.
This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
Authors: Emis Akbari, Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto; and Kerry McCuaig, Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto Ontario’s agreement under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program is set to expire in March 2026, and troubling signs suggest the province is far from meeting its commitments. Despite receiving $13.2 billion — almost half of the total $27.2 billion federal investment — Ontario has fallen short on critical benchmarks. Unlike most families across Canada, Ontario parents have yet to see significant growth in available spaces or $10-a-day child care. This provincial inaction is particularly troubling in a federal election year. While federal maintenance funding is to continue post-2026, without the benefits of the child care plan widely realized and apparent to voters, future governments could easily scale back any gains. Our recent study, conducted in collaboration with regional governments tasked with implementing Ontario’s early learning and child-care agreement, shows how staffing shortages have created long wait-lists for care. Children are ageing out of child care before a space becomes available. The unmet demand, regional officials told us, is eroding public confidence in the program as parents become frustrated in their search for affordable care. While other provinces have enacted comprehensive compensation reforms — including pensions, benefits and wage increases of up to 50 per cent — to attract and retain qualified educators, Ontario’s support for trained early childhood educators tops out at $24.86 per hour, well below the federal poverty line for a family of four. Low wages deter new graduates from entering the child-care field and drive away those already employed. Of the 4,200 early childhood educators that Ontario colleges graduate annually, fewer than 60 per cent enter licensed child care, and only 40 per cent remain after five years. One in five child-care staff responding to our survey told us they hold a second job to make ends meet. Over 55 per cent of couple families, and 83 per cent of lone parent families, are concerned about their housing. The province acknowledges a shortfall of 8,500 educators needed to meet its expansion goal of 86,000 new spaces. Yet the issue runs deeper. Staff shortages mean existing child-care rooms are empty. A single absence can force centre directors to abruptly close rooms, leaving parents scrambling for alternatives. The consequences extend beyond empty classrooms. Staff shortages compromise the quality and inclusivity of early childhood programs. Our report found that children with disabilities are often sent home or denied admission altogether due to insufficient staffing. This is despite Jordan’s Principle, which the federal government says ensures all First Nations children access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. Ontario’s requirement for qualified staff is among the lowest in Canada, mandating that only half of a centre’s staff hold a college diploma in early education. The use of ministry “approvals,” a stop-gap measure allowing untrained staff to fill roles until qualified educators are found, has become standard practice. Our research found entire programs, particularly those in northern regions and those serving francophone and Indigenous families, operating without a single qualified early childhood educator. Educator shortages not only exclude children from child care, but degrade the quality of care. While less than one per cent of the province’s almost 28,000 early childhood educators working in licensed child care are reported to authorities, incidents involving the improper handling of children have seen an uptick. This may partly reflect the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath, but it also may signal staff burnout and the prevalence of untrained workers. Equally alarming, 14 per cent of respondents in our study indicated they would be reluctant to recommend their own centre to a family member or friend seeking child care. Quality and staffing challenges vary significantly across Ontario’s child-care network of over 5,700 centres. Publicly operated centres and established community providers, where wages and benefits are higher, report fewer staffing shortages or quality problems. In contrast, for-profit centres, where wages are significantly lower, experience the highest staff turnover and lowest levels of job dissatisfaction
CHILD CARE ONTARIO CANADA STAFFING SHORTAGES QUALITY OF CARE EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT FEDERAL FUNDING
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