Need Help with the Cost of Child Care?

Update on Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Program ("$10 a Day")

The need for affordable child care in Halton has never been greater. Halton Region receives Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care ($10 a day child care) funding and spaces from the Provincial Government to support access to affordable child care across the Region.

The number of CWELCC child care spaces allocated to Halton Region from the Provincial Government remains insufficient to meet growing community need. We recognize that many Halton families continue to be unable to access affordable child care. Every family should have access to high quality and affordable child care if they need it. We continue our advocacy efforts with the Provincial Government for more $10 a day child care spaces so more Halton families can access affordable child care.

Please return to this webpage for future updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

About the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System

On March 28, 2022, the Federal and Provincial Governments announced a new funding agreement that will reduce the average cost of child care in Ontario.

Only families with eligible children under age 6 enrolled in participating child care programs will receive lower fees.

Effective January 1, 2025, fees are capped at no more than $22 per day. The Provincial Government is working toward lowering child care fees to an average of $10 per day. The next planned fee reduction date has not been confirmed by the Province.

The Provincial Government negotiated an extension of the Federal-Provincial CWELCC agreement until March 31, 2027.

For more information from the Province, visit More Child Care Fee Reductions Coming for Ontario Families (external link).

Halton Region’s role

Halton Region is the Service System Manager for early years and child care in legislation. Halton Region plans, administers and funds early years and licensed child care programs to maintain affordable and high-quality care across the region. In this capacity the Region is required by the Ministry of Education to administer the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program.

While administered locally by the Region, CWELCC is primarily funded by the federal and provincial governments. All CWELCC funding and space allocations are determined by the provincial Ministry of Education.

Approved child care providers

For a list of child care providers in Halton enrolled in CWELCC, please select your community below.

CWELCC eligibility

To receive lower child care fees, children must be enrolled in a licensed child care centre or home child care agency that is participating in CWELCC.

Children in participating infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten, family age group or licensed home child care programs who meet this age criteria are eligible:

• Children who turn 6 years old between January and June, are eligible until June 30 of that year.
• Children who turn 6 years old between July 1 and December 31 are eligible until the end of the month they turn 6.

Children in a participating school-age program at a licensed child care centre are eligible only until the end of the month they turn 6 years old.

Families receiving fee subsidy

The Ontario child care fee subsidy program continues to be available for eligible families to help them pay for licensed child care.

If your family has a child under the age of six in receipt of fee subsidy, you will see your parental contribution amounts reduced by 50% from the parental contribution charged prior to your child care provider’s participation in CWELCC.

If your child care provider has left CWELCC, you can continue to receive your fee subsidy until your child ages-out of the program or leaves the centre/agency voluntarily.

Providers who are not in CWELCC and serve children 0-5 are not able to accept new fee subsidy children.

Frequently asked questions from parents

My child care provider wants to enrol in CWELCC. When will my child care provider be able to enrol?

Enrolment for additional child care providers to join CWELCC is currently closed as there is no provincial funding to support growth of CWELCC in Halton at this time.

Halton Region will continue to advocate to the provincial government for additional funding to support expansion of CWELCC spaces to ensure as many Halton families as possible receive affordable child care.

I have questions or concerns about my CWELCC fee reductions, who should I talk to?

Please contact your child care provider or childcareservices@halton.ca with any questions or concerns about your fee reductions.

How can I find child care providers who have enrolled in CWELCC?

Please see the list of child care providers, in Halton, enrolled in CWELCC.

How can I find child care?

• Child Care Search - find contact information for a specific centre or licensed home child care agency (external link).
• Child Care Directory and Information Line - learn about child care options in Halton (external link).

When will the next child care fee reduction take place?

Effective January 1, 2025, fees were capped at $22 per day. This means that, fees would be either $22 or the current reduced base fee charged to parents on December 31, 2024, whichever is less. If families are currently paying less than $22 per day (e.g. a fee that is under the cap) their fee will stay the same.

The next planned fee reduction date has not been confirmed by the Province.

Child care fee subsidy

To be eligible for child care fee subsidy, you must:

• live in Halton Region
• be working, training, attending school, or have a medical and/or exceptional circumstance
• have children from birth to 12 years of age in licensed child care programs
• be financially eligible for the child care fee subsidy

To receive the fee subsidy, children must also be enrolled in one of the following programs:

• CWELCC-enrolled centre/agency (fee subsidy available for children aged 0 to 12)
• a centre/agency exclusively serving children aged 6 to 12
• camps and children’s recreation programs
• before and after school program offered directly by school boards
• before and after school programs operated by third party programs
• unlicensed child care for Ontario works participants

Financial eligibility depends on your income. You must have filed an income tax return and completed an income test to determine if you qualify for child care fee subsidy. You will also need a recent copy of one of the following documents:

• Federal Notice of Assessment or Reassessment (NOA) (external link)
• Canada Child Benefit Notice (external link)

Child care subsidy calculator

The fee subsidy is based on your family's total income and child care costs. Use the Child Care Subsidy Calculator to check if you are eligible for a fee subsidy and the amount you qualify for.

Note: This tool does not guarantee eligibility for the program.

Applying for child care fee subsidy

To apply for child care fee subsidy:

1. Create a My Child Care Account and complete the application form (external link).
2. Upload one of the following documents to complete your application:
   • most recent Notice of Assessment
   • most recent Canada Child Benefit Notice
   • most recent OW or ODSP statement
   • if you are a newcomer and have not filed your taxes, submit confirmation of your arrival date into Canada (PR Card, Refugee Claimant Document, Work or School Visa)

If you require assistance with your application, please call 311.

Child care fee subsidy documents and downloads

• Referral for Medical and/or Exceptional Circumstance – Child (PDF file)
• Referral for Medical and/or Exceptional Circumstance – Parent (PDF file)
• Agreement for Child Care Subsidy form (PDF file)
• Rental Agreement Form – Child Care Services  (PDF file)