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Ontario is taking the next step in lowering child care fees for families as part of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system. Starting in January 2025, parent fees will be capped at $22 per day for children under the age of six in CWELCC programs, resulting in additional savings of nearly $300 million in 2025 for families.
Since signing an agreement with the federal government in 2022 for their signature national program, Ontario has already reduced child care fees by an average of 50 per cent from 2020 levels, introduced its Child Care Workforce Strategy and launched a plan to create thousands of new licensed child care spaces in communities across the province.
Ontario continues to call on the federal government to increase funding to this national program so it is sustainable for families throughout the province. This advocacy reflects Ontario’s unique agreement with the federal government which included a mid-agreement program review. Ontario’s new $22 per day fee cap for children under the age of six in programs enrolled in the CWELCC system will reduce fees for 44 per cent of these spaces. That means families facing the highest fees, often those with the youngest children living in less affordable communities, will see the largest fee reductions. This change will result in additional savings of nearly $300 million in 2025 for these families.
Based on extensive consultations with partners in child care delivery, including all types of child care operators as well as service system managers and school boards, the Ontario government is also introducing a new, cost-based funding approach for operators in the CWELCC program. The new funding approach, which will also be effective January 2025, prioritizes a simple and easy-to-administer system, which is consistent across the province and funds operators based on the true costs of operating child care.
Ontario will continue to work with the federal government, municipalities, and operators to build a sustainable early years and child care system that meets the needs of children, families, and professionals in all communities across the province.
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