Bringing Communities Together for Change

Save the Date! October 21st, 2026 

Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 is the 26th annual Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. This day recognizes the commitment, skills and hard work of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and staff who work with young children. Each year, the day is proclaimed by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), municipalities and school boards across Ontario, and is marked by hundreds of childcare centres, unions, and allies.

This year’s Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day theme is Care Counts, to centre the importance of care in early learning and child care and the pride that ECEs and child care workers feel in their work. There is no education without care. “Care Counts” also speaks to the need to value and remunerate those doing care work better – and builds solidarity across care work professions.

Thanks to generous sponsors, including the AECEO, AEFO, CUPE Ontario, ETFO, OFL, OSSTF, Society of United Professionals, Unifor and USW District 6, we can draw attention to the value of ECEs and child care workers/providers in our communities October 21st.  

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