Like K–12 schools, a strong public early learning and child care (ELCC) system must be publicly funded and planned around the real and diverse lives of families.

For much of Canada’s history, child care was left to the market. Families paid high fees, access was uneven, and educators’ work was undervalued. Wages stayed low, quality suffered, and parents — especially women — often had to make impossible choices: work less, accept unstable jobs, or leave the workforce altogether.

In 2021, years of advocacy reached a historic turning point. The federal government, in partnership with provinces and territories, launched the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) initiative. They committed to lowering fees to an average of $10 a day, expanding public and not-for-profit child care, improving conditions for early childhood educators, and making access fairer for all families.

Families are already feeling the difference. Hundreds of thousands of children now have access to more affordable child care. Parents share stories of relief, opportunity, and stability as they return to work, move into full-time work, and gain more time with their children.

But the system is still under construction. Funding gaps, workforce challenges, and uneven access continue to shape families’ lives. These challenges are not felt equally. Racialized families, immigrants, low-income households, parents with disabilities, and other equity-deserving groups face the greatest barriers. Their voices are too often missing from policy decisions that affect their lives.

The Inclusive Child Care for All 2.0 project is working to close those gaps. We strengthen advocacy networks, support leaders from underrepresented communities, and co-create policy solutions. By centering equity, diversity, and feminist values, we work to protect and expand ELCC for all families — ensuring no one is left behind as Canada builds a foundational ELCC system for this generation, the next, and beyond.