Introduction:

On October 19, 2015, Canada will have a federal election. One of the election issues that has been discussed by all major parties is childcare. Canada is known to spend less than other comparably wealthy nations on early learning and care, and childcare advocates have pressed the federal government to develop a national childcare strategy (ChildCare2020, 2014). One of the central messages from childcare advocates is that a national childcare strategy should be “inclusive” (Frankel & Underwood, 2014). This brief provides recommendations for defining inclusive early childhood education and care, and the needed steps for the development of a national childcare strategy that is designed for participation of children experiencing disability and a range of developmental differences.