The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system supports quality, accessibility, affordability, and inclusivity in licensed child care.
The CWELCC system is a five-year plan that is being implemented in stages, to make child care more accessible and affordable. Fees will reduce every year, reaching an average fee of $10/day by 2025-2026.
In the City of Toronto, the CWELCC system will:
As the service system manager (SSM/CMSM) for Toronto, the City’s role in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system is to:
For more information, Agencies can contact the consultant assigned to the child care location or Agency. Contact information can be found in the A-Z Listing.
The 2024 Application for CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grants is now closed. The application process opened May 8, 2024. The deadline to submit applications was June 6, 2024.
For Francophone Agencies the 2024 Application for CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grants is now closed. The application process opened May 22, 2024. The deadline to submit applications was June 19, 2024.
All CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grant applications will be reviewed and approved based on Toronto Children’s Services eligibility criteria, priorities, and space and funding allocations that align with the Ministry of Education’s Access and Inclusion Framework and Toronto Children’s Services Growth Strategy. Other eligibility requirements may be developed and applied by the City of Toronto related to Directed Growth.
Further to the expansion criteria, the Ministry of Education has directed the City of Toronto to maintain its current proportion of not-for-profit child care spaces. In Toronto, a minimum of 80% of the new spaces approved must be not-for-profit spaces. This will be monitored and actioned by Children’s Service throughout the expansion process.
Child Care Agencies that meet the following criteria were eligible to apply:
*For more information on the Toronto Children’s Services’ approach to enhance access and inclusion for priority areas and target populations see the June 14, 2023 City of Toronto Council approved report page 9 for the Priority Levels for CWELCC Expansion by Toronto Wards map. To lookup your location’s ward, please visit the Ward Profiles – City of Toronto webpage
Application Types that do not require the 2024 Expansion and Start-up Grant Application
Applications for new or expansion of Kindergarten and School Age programs in publicly funded schools are approved through the School Boards working directly with TCS and do not require this application.
Other eligibility requirements may be developed and applied by the City of Toronto related to Directed Growth.
The Start-up Grant is available to not-for-profit and commercial Licensed Child Care Agencies enrolled in CWELCC.
For additional information on the Start-up Grant, including eligible expenses, please see the Ministry of Education CWELCC Guidelines, March 2024
The 2024 Application for CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grants opened May 8, 2024 and the deadline to submit applications was June 6, 2024.
For Francophone Agencies the 2024 Application for CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grants is now closed. The application process opened May 22, 2024. The deadline to submit applications was June 19, 2024.
All CWELCC Expansion and Start-up Grant applications will be reviewed and approved based on Toronto Children’s Services eligibility criteria, priorities, and space and funding allocations that align with the Ministry of Education’s Access and Inclusion Framework and Toronto Children’s Services Growth Strategy. Other eligibility requirements may be developed and applied by the City of Toronto related to Directed Growth.
Further to the expansion criteria, the Ministry of Education has directed the City of Toronto to maintain its current proportion of not-for-profit child care spaces. In Toronto, a minimum of 80% of the new spaces approved must be not-for-profit spaces. This will be monitored and actioned by Children’s Service throughout the expansion process.
Home Child Care Agencies that meet the following criteria were eligible to apply:
The Start-up Grant supports the creation of new licensed full day child care spaces for children 0-4 in targeted regions for underserved communities and populations. High need populations include vulnerable children, including those living in low income, children with extra support needs, and Indigenous and Francophone communities.
To support the creation of new spaces approved Home Child Care Agencies will be able to receive grants of up to $1,200 per new CWELCC space created, to a maximum of $7,200 per provider.
For additional information on the Start-up Grant, including eligible expenses, please see the Ministry of Education CWELCC Guidelines, March 2024
| Wage Eligibility Ceiling 2022 to 2026* | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| RECE Program Staff | $25.00 | $25.00 | $26.00 | $27.00 | $28.00 |
| RECE Supervisor/RECE Home Child Care Visitor | $25.00 | $25.00 | $29.00 | $30.00 | $31.00 |
*In addition to the hourly wage staff are required to receive benefits
| Wage Eligibility Ceiling 2022 to 2026* | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| RECE Program Staff | $18.00 | $19.00 | $23.86 | $24.86 | $25.86 |
| RECE Supervisor/RECE Home Child Care Visitor | $20.00 | $21.00 | $24.86 | $25.86 | $26.86 |
*In addition to the hourly wage staff are required to receive benefits
2024 CWELCC fee reduction requirements (as of January 1, 2024):
Audit requirements:
For more information on Toronto Children’s Services financial requirements including audit and budget guidelines, please visit the Contract & Financial Information.
Updated requirements regarding closure days:
Compliance requirements:
Effective January 1, 2025, Agencies will be required to adhere to the two consecutive weeks of closure and four weeks of closure limit within a calendar year. Agencies must ensure that they have no more than 20 days of closure where families are charged a fee, inclusive of statutory holidays.
If an agency exceeds the days of closure, they may either:
Agencies with an existing Service Agreement with Toronto Children’s Services that are considering a closure or relocation of their child care centre (temporary or permanent) must contact their District Consultant for further information. Contact information can be found in the A-Z Listing.
If an Agency wishes to dispute CWELCC funding policy or guideline interpretation, the Agency can draft a formal letter to the General Manager (GM) of Toronto Children’s Services and send it to CWELCC@toronto.ca, outlining the issues and requesting a review. The GM will then initiate an internal review and communicate the outcome via a formal letter.