Canada-Wide Early Learning & Child Care – Information for Families

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system is a five-year plan that supports quality, accessibility, affordability, and inclusivity within the child care sector.

New in 2025, additional fee reductions for families enrolled in the CWELCC program are up to a maximum of $22 per day. Based on feedback from child care operators, the Province of Ontario has announced improvements to the CWELCC program, effective January 1, 2025.

These improvements better respond to child care operators’ true costs of providing high-quality and accessible child care and provide additional funding opportunities, including for operating costs and wage enhancement grants for staff. The City of Toronto is committed to working with all levels of government to create new high-quality, affordable and accessible child care spaces through its Directed Growth Plan, in alignment with the goals of its 10-year Growth Strategy.

Eligibility for fee reduction applies to children 0-6 years of age who are enrolled in licensed CWELCC participating child care centres or home child care agencies. The Province of Ontario has determined the eligibility requirements.

Children turning 6 between January 1st to June 30th:

  • Your child is eligible for a fee reduction until June 30th if they turn 6 between January 1st and June 30th and are enrolled in home child care OR are enrolled in a child care centre in the following age groups: preschool, kindergarten, family-age group
  • For children enrolled in child care school age groupings, see section below for more information

Children turning 6 after June 30th:

  • If your child turns 6 between July 1st and December 31st, they are eligible for a fee reduction until the end of the month they turn 6 if they are enrolled in a child care centre in the following age groups: preschool, kindergarten, family-age group
  • For example, if your child’s birthday is September 19th, they are eligible for a fee reduction until September 30th and must pay the full fee as of October 1st

School age child care age grouping:

  • Children enrolled in a child care school age grouping are only eligible for fee reductions until the end of the month they turn 6
  • For example, if a child turns 6 on April 3rd, they are only eligible for a reduction until April 30th and must pay the full fee as of May 1st

**For families that receive a child care fee subsidy, please click on the CWELCC and Child Care Fee Subsidy Tab to learn more about fee reductions.

2024 CWELCC fee reduction requirements (as of January 1, 2024):

  • CWELCC participating programs must continue to reduce their frozen child care fees by 52.75% on their March 27, 2022, base fee to a minimum of $12 per day
  • Agencies are required to disclose in their parent handbook all base and non-base fees and all closure days (and whether there is a fee charged for the closed days)
  • Details on requirements can be found in O. Reg. 137/15

Type of Fees:

All Fees must be included in the agency’s Parent Handbook and fees must be posted at the centre.

Base Fees:

  • Are mandatory costs that families must pay to receive child care.
  • All mandatory fees were required to be frozen to the March 27, 2022 rate (there are other legislative requirements for new centres or those opened after this date, refer to Reg. 137/15)
  • For School Age programs with eligible children, the 2022 base frozen fee for eligible children must also be reduced by 52.75%
  • Any mandatory non refundable registration fees that were in place as of March 27th, 2022, are considered base fees and subject to all CWELCC fee reductions
  • No new mandatory fees can be introduced after the frozen fee date
  • Mandatory fees cannot be increased
  • Most child care fees are base fees
  • Deposits used to cover fee for the last weeks/months of service receive the CWELCC benefit at that time
  • Fees must correspond to the room and age group. In cases where children are underage or overage in a room, the lower fee will apply. For example, if a child is an infant (less than 18 months) and is underage in a toddler room, the toddler CWELCC reduced rate applies

Base Fee Reduction example (as of Jan. 1, 2024):

An infant frozen rate as of March 27, 2022, is $1700 per month. Therefore, as of January 1st, 2024, with a 52.75% CWELCC fee reduction, the new reduced CWELCC rate is $803.25 per month.

Non-Base Fees:

  • Are optional services, where there is an additional fee
  • These fees are not supported under CWELCC and are not eligible for a CWELCC reduction
  • An optional fee should never impact service and/or daily activities for your child
  • An example of a non-base fee would be bussing services

Posted Fee Memos:

  • System generated fee memos are posted at all CWELCC participating child care locations
  • Centres may post an additional fee memo or include the CWELCC school-age fee on the system generated fee memo

For concerns related to CWELCC fees, please reach out to the Toronto Children’s Services District Consultant assigned to the child care program. Their contact information can be found on the bottom of each child care listed in the A – Z  Child Care listing.

    Child care fee subsidy continues to be available for eligible families to assist with the cost of child care. For more information and how to apply for a fee subsidy, visit Child Care Fee Subsidy.

    For families in receipt of a fee subsidy, assessed subsidy fees may be reduced up to 50% depending on the number of eligible children in the household and if the child care program is participating in CWELCC.

    Families can find agencies that are participating in CWELCC and that accept fee subsidy by using the Find a Child Care Near You, A-Z Child Care listing, and/or Licensed Home Child Care Page.