WELLINGTON COUNTY – County residents can expect to have 750 new child care spaces operational for children under four by the end of next year.
Children’s early years division (CEYD) director Ashley Vanderlaan presented an update on the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system to the county’s joint social services and land ambulance committee on Oct. 8.
The CWELCC system launched in 2022 to make child care more affordable accessible and inclusive.
The province introduced a CWELCC directed growth approach and growth targets to service system managers.
The county’s target is to have 1,719 new spaces by Dec. 31, 2026.
“These 1,719 new CWELCC growth spaces have been allocated between 2022, when CWELCC was first implemented, and September 30, 2025,” Vanderlaan told the Advertiser.
Of that target, 969 are already operational and the remaining 750 spaces are still in development.
To identify where new CWELCC spaces are most needed the CEYD used the county’s Directed Growth Plan, which was developed to comply with the province’s growth approach, states the committee report.
Prior to the implementation of the CWELCC system, the county had approximately 2,107 full-time centre-based and 180 licensed home-based child care spaces in operation.
The service area now sits at 2,437 centre-based full-time spaces, with an additional 522 centre-based spaces planned to be in service by the end of 2026. This includes the most recent round of approvals: 62 in Centre Wellington, 49 in Guelph/Eramosa, 72 in Minto and 52 in Puslinch.
Mapleton was previously approved for 64 spaces and there are no planned CWELCC spaces for Erin or Wellington North.
Though all spaces have been allocated, those not currently operational and in the planning stage may face challenges that could delay service delivery beyond Dec. 31, 2026, states the report.
The province provided the county with $73 million in CWELCC funding to support the operation of 2,959 spaces. The county’s funding allocation for the additional spaces in 2026 has not yet been confirmed by the province.
When all CWELCC spaces are combined, the access rate across Wellington-Guelph is projected at 36 per cent, one percent point below the 37% target.
Guelph is the only municipality in the area projected to meet the provincial target for centre-based care.
“To meet the provincial target an additional 732 unfunded centre-based child care spaces are needed beyond those created through the CWELCC system,” the report states.
Staff recommended the report be sent to county council for information.
