Comprehensive Resources
Grounded in Evidence and Designed for Action
Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario
2nd Edition
September 2025
Created in consultation with the OCBCC and AECEO’s members, partners and allies, the Roadmap shares a plan of how many people in the early learning and child care (ELCC) community would like to see CWELCC implemented in Ontario.
The Roadmap sets out a hopeful vision of an ELCC system with affordable fees, decent work and pay for educators, and access for all, and recommends policy interventions to make that vision a reality. This second edition of the Roadmap evaluates the progress that has been made toward key aspects of our shared vision, discusses current issues, and updates the recommended policy interventions to address the evolving context of Ontario’s implementation of CWELCC.
A Guide to Early Learning and Child Care in Ontario
The Guide to Early Learning and Child Care in Ontario is a project of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC).
Purchase the 2023 Guide to Early Learning and Child Care in Ontario
You can order the PDF version of the 2023 Guide for $25.00, the print copy is currently out of stock. If you would like to request a print copy or purchase multiple PDF copies of the Guide, please contact us.
This document is written and published by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC). By using this document, you accept and agree to the terms of use.
Since the first edition of this publication there have been many changes to the governance, financing and pedagogy of early learning and child care in Ontario. Child care in Ontario continues to evolve and change. In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of child care centres across Ontario. The impact of the pandemic on the early learning and child care sector will be felt for years. In April 2021, the federal government introduced the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan. In March 2022, Ontario signed on to CWELCC and has since been implementing the new child care policy. This has vastly changed the child care sector in Ontario and continues to do so.
We recognize that this one Guide cannot do it all and hope for this publication to be a living document. We encourage readers to continue their own exploration by reading reports, policy documents, and news. The OCBCC will continue to monitor policy developments, ensuring that we respond to the needs of our communities. and request that readers write to us to let us know what you liked and what you would like to see in future editions.
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Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario, First Edition (2021)
The Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario was developed in 2021 through community engagement and consultation. Together, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario released the Roadmap to set out a shared vision for how the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care plan should be best implemented here in Ontario. The Roadmap was developed through community engagement and consultation, gathering feedback and input from our members, partners, allies and their communities about how best to move child care forward. The Roadmap sets our shared path forward for Ontario child care, featuring 20 Policy Interventions that can transform early learning and child care in Ontario from a market-based patchwork to a comprehensive, publicly funded system.
Publications & Policy Documents
Policy Brief 2: Ontario Child Care Funding Formula
In the latest publication from the OCBCC & AECEO’s Policy Brief series, Dr. Gordon Cleveland outlines what a new Ontario child care funding formula should do in order to be successful. It is anticipated that Ontario will release and implement a new child care...
Position Paper and Policy Brief on a Publicly-Funded ELCC Salary Scale
Press release: Ontario falling behind other provinces on child care wages and jeopardizing progress on $10-day child care plan, new report shows Download the Position Paper (19pp) Download the Policy Brief (8pp) Ontario has a child care workforce shortage amid an...
WAGE (Women and Gender Equality) Project
The WAGE Project is a new project at the OCBCC with a focus on centering the voices of racialized mothers and educators in shaping child care response and recovery in Ontario. This project is funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada's Feminist Response and Recovery...
Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario
The Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario was developed through community engagement and consultation. Over the past year, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario have engaged our members, partners,...
HR Innovation Toolkit
Based on the work of the Ontario Decent Work Taskforce, we know that the working conditions in the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) sector significantly contribute to the challenge in recruiting and retaining qualified staff here in Ontario. The National Network on Early Learning and Child Care Human Resources Innovation and Decent Work aims to address staff recruitment and retention issues through developing and incubating innovative solutions to common ELCC workplace challenges.
The HR Innovations Toolkit includes:
- Hiring resources, including job descriptions, job boards, and tips for promoting your centre
- Retention resources, such as mentorship program tools, career maps, centre book study, and professional development policies
- Community presentations and webinars
Child Care Fact Sheets
Our fact sheets are designed to help you speak confidently about the most important issues in early learning and child care. Written in plain language and backed by evidence, these one-pagers break down complex policies and funding issues into accessible, action-ready tools.
Recommendations for Creating an Anti-Racist Child Care System in Ontario
Recommendations for Ontario Government Recommendations_to_the_Ontario_government_Creating_an_anti-racist_child_care_system_in_OntarioDownload Recommendations for Postsecondary, Training and Professional Practice Organizations...
CWELCC Wage Improvement Funds
With the introduction of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, there is a new funding model for licensed child care in Ontario, including some new wage improvement funds for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) working in licensed...
Ontario Child Care Regulation Proposals
As part of a 5-year review of the Child Care and Early Years Act, the Ontario government is proposing regulatory changes that could place some younger children into larger groups with fewer qualified staff. Our fact sheet summarizes the Ford government's plans for...
Ford is Failing Families: Let’s Make Child Care Essential for Economic Recovery
The Ford government has not promised any new funding to Ontario’s early learning and child care sector since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Their failure to act is pushing child care into a funding crisis that will destabilize the entire sector. With only 3 days’ notice...
Child Care and the Gender Wage Gap
Child care is an economic justice issue for women. This fact sheet summarizes how the current child care patchwork contributes to the gender wage gap; benefits of an universal system and recommendations for government action are proposed....
How to Use These Fact Sheets
- Bring them to a meeting with your MPP or school board trustee
- Share them at a staff meeting, board meeting, or community event
- Post on social media or print for your centre’s bulletin board
- Use them to write letters to editors or speak to local media
- Reference them in class or advocacy projects if you’re a student or instructor
Support Accessible, Public Early Learning and Child Care Information
These publications—and all our advocacy tools—are made possible through the support of our members.
If you’ve found them helpful, consider joining the OCBCC. Your membership or donation helps us continue creating resources, running campaigns, and advocating for a stronger, more equitable early learning and child care system in Ontario.
