TORONTO, September 30, 2026 – The federal and Ontario governments announced on September 29 that they have extended the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement for another four years. Under the new agreement, Ontario will receive nearly $12 billion in federal funding between March 31, 2027 and March 31, 2031 to continue supporting affordable child-care services.
For parents, child-care fees will not rise immediately at this stage. Eligible child-care providers participating in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care, or CWELCC, system will continue to charge an average of about $19 per day until at least June 30, 2027.
Currently, child-care fees for eligible children under the CWELCC system are capped at $22 per day, with the provincial average at about $19 per day. The fee cap has been in place since January 2025. The $19 figure represents the average among participating providers, and actual fees may vary by child-care centre.
The nearly $12 billion in funding announced this time follows about $13.8 billion in federal CWELCC funding provided for the 2021-to-2027 period, giving Ontario’s child-care system financial support for the next four years.
It remains unclear how child-care fees will be adjusted after the end of June 2027.
The federal and Ontario governments said the two sides will continue discussions over the next year on long-term fees and funding arrangements for the child-care system. This includes how much Ontario may receive from the additional $5.4 billion in national child-care funding announced by the federal government in June. That funding is planned over two years to help provinces and territories continue keeping child-care fees low.
The Ontario government said the agreement extension will allow families and child-care providers to better understand funding arrangements for the coming years. Specific fee levels after 2027 and future funding allocations will still need to be negotiated by both governments.
Beyond fees, child-care spaces remain a key concern for many families. Ontario previously proposed adding 86,000 licensed child-care spaces across the province by the end of 2026, with priority given to areas of higher need, as well as services for children with special needs, Indigenous communities and French-language communities.
For young families in the Greater Toronto Area, the most immediate impact of the agreement is that CWELCC child-care fees will remain at current levels until the end of June 2027. Whether fees will change after that, and whether more child-care spaces can be added, will depend on the next stage of funding and expansion arrangements.
（LJI by Yuanyuan）
