Toronto’s Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, 2025-2030

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The decision

2025-07-23 · Toronto City Council · amended

As filed

City Council on July 23 and 24, 2025, adopted the following: 1. City Council direct the General Manager, Children's Services to follow guidance from local Indigenous-led organizations and associations to co-develop and implement an Indigenous-led Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, ensuring clear roles in shared decision-making, implementation, and ongoing oversight. 2. City Council request the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada to recognize Indigenous rights, governance systems, and holistic approaches to early learning and child care and ensure legislation, policy, and funding frameworks respond accordingly.

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3. City Council approve Toronto's Early Years and Child Care Service Plan 2025-2030, included as Attachment 1 to the report (June 24, 2025) from the General Manager, Children's Services. 4. City Council instruct the General Manager, Children's Services, to forward the approved Service Plan to the Ministry of Education and Toronto school boards for their information and reference. 5. City Council direct the General Manager, Children's Services to continue to work in partnership with other City Divisions, Agencies and Corporations, including Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Toronto Public Health, on equitable EarlyON system planning to prioritize growth in high-inequity neighbourhoods. 6. City Council request the Federal and Provincial Governments to make incremental operating investments, indexed for inflation and to reflect population changes, to support the ongoing operation and growth of the EarlyON system in Toronto. 7. City Council request the Federal and Provincial Governments to expand the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement to cover children up to 12 years of age, including access to affordable before and after-school care. 8. City Council request the Provincial Government to provide capital funding, in consultation with the City, to reflect the regional and actual costs of developing child care spaces in alignment with the City's Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Directed Growth Plan. 9. City Council request the Provincial Government to enhance its Workforce Strategy for the early years and child care sector to further increase wages and benefits for all program staff to levels that achieve parity with positions in the public sector in Toronto.

The vote

End Debate · Carried, 18-4

For (18)Alejandra Bravo, Amber Morley, Ausma Malik, Chris Moise, Dianne Saxe, Frances Nunziata, Gord Perks, Jamaal Myers, James Pasternak, Jon Burnside, Lily Cheng, Mike Colle, Nick Mantas, Paul Ainslie, Paula Fletcher, Rachel Chernos Lin, Shelley Carroll, Vincent Crisanti

Against (4)Anthony Perruzza, Josh Matlow, Olivia Chow, Stephen Holyday

Absent (3)Brad Bradford, Michael Thompson, Parthi Kandavel

The whole record, all 25 members

Every name opens that member’s record.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

This report seeks approval of Toronto's Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, 2025-2030 ("Service Plan"). The Service Plan guides Toronto's approach, in collaboration with sector partners, to planning and managing the early years and child care system over the next five years. As the early years and child care sector responds to new realities resulting from the implementation of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system and changes to the socioeconomic landscape, the Service Plan provides a responsive, strategic framework with clear actions to support the sector as it navigates these changes.

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The Service Plan was developed through comprehensive stakeholder engagement involving families, early years and child care staff, service providers and operators, school boards, and community organizations, including Indigenous leaders in the sector. This ensures that the Service Plan is grounded in the lived realities and insights of Toronto's diverse families, whose experiences are at the heart of this work.

Staff recommended

The General Manager, Children's Services recommends that: 1. City Council direct the General Manager, Children's Services to follow guidance from local Indigenous-led organizations and associations to co-develop and implement an Indigenous-led Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, ensuring clear roles in shared decision-making, implementation, and ongoing oversight. 2. City Council request the Province of Ontario and Government of Canada to recognize Indigenous rights, governance systems, and holistic approaches to early learning and child care and ensure legislation, policy, and funding frameworks respond accordingly.

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3. City Council approve Toronto's Early Years and Child Care Service Plan 2025-2030, included as Attachment 1 to this report. 4. City Council instruct the General Manager, Children's Services, to forward the approved Service Plan to the Ministry of Education and Toronto school boards for their information and reference.

Considered

2025-07-09 · Economic and Community Development Committee · adopted
Decision as filed
The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that: 1. City Council direct the General Manager, Children's Services to follow guidance from local Indigenous-led organizations and associations to co-develop and implement an Indigenous-led Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, ensuring clear roles in shared decision-making, implementation, and ongoing oversight. 2. City Council request the Province of Ontario and Government of Canada to recognize Indigenous rights, governance systems, and holistic approaches to early learning and child care and ensure legislation, policy, and funding frameworks respond accordingly.
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3. City Council approve Toronto's Early Years and Child Care Service Plan 2025-2030, included as Attachment 1 to the report (June 24, 2025) from the General Manager, Children's Services. 4. City Council instruct the General Manager, Children's Services, to forward the approved Service Plan to the Ministry of Education and Toronto school boards for their information and reference.
Clerk’s note
The General Manager, Children's Services gave a presentation to the Economic and Community Development Committee on Toronto's Early Years and Child Care Service Plan, 2025-2030.
2025-07-23 · Toronto City Council · amended

On the record

The item as the City filed it

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