Building Canada’s
Child Care System
Universal child care through the $10/day plan
Implementation details are key to success
Putting an early learning and child care (ELCC) system in place is complex, especially in the Canadian context. The implementation, which must primarily be carried out by provinces and territories, is critically important. The foundation has been laid, but the details of each jurisdiction’s approach to the $10/day plan’s implementation will determine how and when the vision of a truly universal, affordable, accessible, high quality, and inclusive ELCC system in Canada becomes a reality.
Making a historic commitment
In 2021, the Government of Canada made a historic commitment to build a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system, now known as the $10/day plan or CWELCC. Federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governing bodies working in partnership have begun to put the $10/day plan in place from coast to coast to coast.
A multi-year approach to system building
The first foundational system building benchmark was reached when all provinces and territories reached agreements with the federal government by March 2022. The first agreements and action plans paved the way for the longer-term system building work needed to achieve Canada’s ambitious shared goals.
