Invite your politicians in to learn about how important your program is to the community.

Why?

Hosting a Child Care Open House for policy makers is a simple and effective advocacy tactic. It is a great chance to build a relationship with your elected officials, and to show them just how important early learning and child care is to your community – and to their constituents. Plus, parents and educators are often more relaxed in a child care setting than in a politician’s stuffy office, and may feel more comfortable speaking up. 

The National Day of the Child is an internationally recognized day to promote children’s rights, well-being, safety, and their active participation in society. It’s a perfect time for everyone to recognize the importance of quality early learning and child care. The holiday season is also a popular time, when politicians will be in their ridings.

How?

The steps to organizing a successful Open House are simple. 

1. Pick a day. The official National Day of the Child is November 20th, but policy makers will be in their local ridings for Constituency Week between November 10th-14th, 2025, so you’ll have much better luck scheduling a visit from them that week. Or pick a day in December for a Holiday Open House.

2. Choose a time when families and educators can take part. This is usually at the end of the day – pick-up time. Asking families to stay for an extra 30-60 minutes for some snacks and chatting is usually very welcome. 

3. Invite the relevant elected officials to the Open House. Elected officials at various levels of government make policy about child care. In Ontario, the federal, provincial and regional/municipal governments each have a role to play. And if your centre is located in a school, the school board trustee is important too. Email and phone calls are great ways to reach out. Here’s a simple email and call template that you can customize:

Hello. My name is [your name], and I’m a constituent. I’m reaching out to invite [elected official] to an Open House at [child care centre name] to celebrate the  National Day of the Child. This would be a great chance for [elected official] to meet with local families and educators and learn about this important local program. The Open House will be held during November constituency week: 
[date and time, location, etc.]

4. Make a plan for the Open House. Plan a flexible agenda, with time for one-on-one conversations and networking as well as a welcome from a representative of the centre’s staff or Board, acknowledging guests, the Day and why continued investment in early learning and child care is so important to the local community. 
5. Take a photo. You can use our Child Care Champion sign to take a photo with elected officials who are attending, as well as with groups of community participants. 

What if my politicians can’t attend?

Offer a Program Tour!

If any of your elected officials can’t attend the Open House, invite them to schedule a Program Tour with you. This allows them more flexibility in timing and gives you a chance to talk to them one-one-one. 

 Here’s a response or script you can customize: 

Sorry to hear that [elected official] can’t attend our Open House. We would still love to connect! To make it convenient for [elected official’s] schedule, we’d love to offer   a personal Program Tour and to have a conversation about local child care at their convenience. Could we please schedule a time in the next couple of weeks? Thank you, [your name]. 

Just like you would do for a prospective family, take the politician around your centre and show them the highlights! Point out what makes your program special and important to families and the community. You can use the space to start a conversation about the importance of early learning and child care to local families and the economy. Let them know how many families you serve and how important the affordability improvements under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan have been. 

Be sure to take some photos. 

Follow up! 

Send a thank you card or email to the policy makers who attended. Sending something decorated by children will definitely make it onto their office bulletin board! 

If any questions came up during your time together that you had to look up, include the answers in your thank-you. You can also use the follow-up message as an opportunity to invite them to upcoming events.  Stay in touch! You should position yourself as a trusted person in the community that they can come to with questions about early learning and child care.