In the Aug. 15 press release, Smith said, “Our government is determined to make life more affordable for families, that’s why we’re putting more money in their pockets by cutting child care fees even further.”
Children enrolled in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system will be eligible for the lower rate, the government said, adding it has already dropped child care fees by about 50 percent from 2020 levels and plans to create thousands of new licensed child care spaces across the province.
As part of the changes, Ontario is also introducing a new, cost-based funding approach for child care operators in the CWELCC system. The new funding model is defined as a “simple and easy-to-administer system” that will be used by operators across Ontario, with child care centres receiving funding based on the “true costs” of operating.
Smith said the new funding formula was created with the input of child care centre operators.
“This new formula will provide the stability and predictability operators need to continue to expand and create more affordable child care spaces for Ontario families,” he said.
The federal government committed $13.2 billion to help lower child care fees to $10 a day by March 2026. For its part, the province says it has put forward $21.6 billion for full-day kindergarten and $11.8 billion for the early years and child care, for a total of $33.4 billion to support children in Ontario.
The province said it has increased grant money for licensed child care facilities for a total of $161 million in 2024 in an effort to create more spaces. An additional $151 million has been earmarked for 2025, the news release said.
Ontario says there were more than 5,770 licensed child care centres in the province as of March 2023, in addition to 148 licensed home child care agencies and 505,000 licensed spaces in Ontario.
The province expects the reduced fees will save families $300 million in 2025.
