Resources for Canadian Parents

CRRU's main focus is early childhood education and care policy research. However, as a national ECEC organization, we often receive calls and emails from parents with questions about accessing child care and managing their child care arrangements. In an effort to assist, we have developed this resource to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding ECEC that we receive from Canadian parents.

We have gathered resources on finding child care, accessing subsidies, dealing with concerns, and getting involved in the child care community. Information is organized by province/territory, prefaced by this section of general information. See specific information for your region by using the links in the box on the right.

Finding child care

Where do I go to find a child care provider?

Most provincial/territorial governments provide lists or online search tools of licensed child care centres and family child care homes. See your provincial/territorial sections for listings provided by most provincial territorial governments.

Accessing fee subsidy

How do I find and apply for child care fee subsidy? How do I know if I am eligible?

Availability of fee subsidy and criteria for receiving subsidy are different in each province. In some areas there are waiting lists to receive fee subsidies. In all cases, parents should apply for subsidies well in advance to receive financial support.
To better understand how subsidies work see CRRU's working paper Child Care Fee Subsidies in Canada by Jane Beach and Martha Friendly.

Questions and concerns

What do I do if I have a concern regarding my child's care? / I disagree with a policy at my child's centre. What can I do?

If you have a serious concern about a situation in your child's centre or family child care, such as a possible licensing infraction, contact information for the appropriate licensing office has been provided in each provincial section.

If you have a question about your child's care or disagree with a policy at your centre you should first try talking with the caregiver/staff and explain your concerns. In many cases issues can be resolved with open communication and understanding.

• Pick a good time to talk to the staff (or the operator or supervisor of the program);
• Drop-off and pick-up times are busy and are usually not good times to talk;
• You can schedule a time to talk about your concerns. That way, both you and the caregiver will be ready to talk.

If talking doesn't solve the problem, then use the links for each provincial section to find out the appropriate provincial authority to go to for help.

Getting involved

How do I become more involved in the ECEC community? How do I become involved in advocating for better child care?

The main national advocacy group for better child care is the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. Many provinces have child care coalitions or advocacy groups; these have been listed in the appropriate provincial section. In some provinces the only formal group is a child care professional association, a body made up of early childhood educators working in the field. In provinces without a formal child care advocacy group, these associations have been listed as a starting point for getting in touch with people in the child care movement.