Daycare waitlists grow as Ontario faces shortage of early childhood educators
Staff shortages, not lack of space, are keeping families off-waitlists. The province needs 10,000 more educators by December 2026.
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Ontario's $10-a-day daycare program is hitting a wall: staff shortages are preventing daycares from filling available spaces, leaving thousands of families stuck on waitlists.
The Canoe Landing Child Care Centre in downtown Toronto has more than 100 people waiting, but the real problem isn't capacity — it's staffing. "We have space to accommodate more, but we can't find quality staff to fill those gaps," said Eva Lacson, vice president of child care services at The Neighbourhood Group Community Services.
Even providers offering higher pay, benefits, and pensions struggle to recruit. Split shifts and long hours make before-and-after school programs particularly undesirable.
A 2025 report by the Ontario auditor general said the province needed 10,000 additional early childhood educators by December 2026 to support the affordable childcare expansion. A follow-up audit next year will assess how many have actually been hired. The Ontario auditor general's office hasn't received an update from the Ministry of Education on that figure.
Amber Straker, executive director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario, points to low wages and rising cost of living as the core problem. The association is calling for a minimum wage grid of $35 to $45 per hour across the sector.
The federal government is providing more than $3.9 billion to Ontario in 2026-27 to support childcare access. The province launched a Workforce Strategy to improve recruitment and retention through higher wages, better working conditions, and career development — but advocates say it isn't moving fast enough.