Midhurst/May 15, 2025 – In an earlier presentation to County Council, County Council and staff thanked the Province of Ontario for increasing the region’s licensed child care space allotment by an additional 1,778 spaces by 2026. This local expansion delivers on the Federal-Provincial Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement, helping Ontario reach its target of creating 86,000 spaces for children under five by the end of 2026.
With this increase, the County is now able to create up to a total of 4,859 new spaces across the region, including those that have been created since 2022.
To date, the County has approved 2,519 spaces for creation since 2022 and intends to develop 2,340 more by December 31, 2026. Of these remaining spaces, 303 are reserved for pre-determined, school-based programs and 2,037 will be created in community-based locations.
| Original Spaces | New School Spaces | New Community Spaces | New Total Spaces | Variance | |
| 2022 | 355 | 0 | 0 | 355 | 0 |
| 2023 | 806 | 0 | 0 | 806 | 0 |
| 2024 | 776 | 127 | 675 | 802 | +26 |
| 2025 | 698 | 49 | 1,869 | 1,918 | +1,220 |
| 2026 | 446 | 127 | 851 | 978 | +532 |
| Total | 3,081 | 303 | 3,395 | 4,859 | +1,778 |
With an additional $16.5 million, these spaces are created through cost-based funding and start up grants. A $4.6 million commitment has been made to support infrastructure improvements. Pre-qualified operators were invited to apply for these additional spaces, with the applications accepted from April 16 – May 5, 2025. Spaces will be awarded with consideration given to system stabilization, location (in comparison to high-priority areas and proximity to existing child care programs), provincial expectations, program size, and viability of the proposed program.
Children Services Dashboard now available on open.simcoe.ca
To enhance accessibility and transparency, a Children Services Dashboard was created on the County’s open data portal, found at open.simcoe.ca. The Children Services Dashboard provides insights into the region’s early years and child care system. It allows residents and community partners to access data on licensed child care, EarlyON Child & Family Centres, CWELCC directed growth approvals to date, and the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The dashboard offers valuable perspective on both the growth and demand for early years and child care services throughout Simcoe County.
About the County of Simcoe
County of Simcoe is composed of 16 member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.
