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November 10, 2025

Letter from Minister of Education Paul Calandra regarding CWELCC extension

Excerpt: "Dear Parents and Guardians, I know that child care costs are a top concern for families, and I am writing to provide an important update about what to expect for next year. I am pleased to share that Ontario has successfully negotiated a one-year extension of the federal child care program which was to expire on March 31, 2026. This extension ensures continuity of the program for the coming year, providing much-needed stability for families and keeping fees at their current average of $19 per day, and a maximum of $22 per day, until at least December 31, 2026."
November 7, 2025

Excerpt: "Classrooms in Alberta continue to grow and are becoming increasingly complex, and immediate action is needed to address these issues in the public education system. To meet these issues head on, the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee has been created. The cabinet committee will help guide government policy and deploy resources to deal with class sizes and classroom complexity."
November 6, 2025

Excerpt: "The government is continuing to ensure growing communities are provided with modern learning spaces to help students achieve success. As announced in the 2025 Ontario Budget, Ontario is investing over $30 billion over the next 10 years, including approximately $23 billion in capital grants, to build new and redeveloped schools and child care spaces. This includes working closely with school boards to ensure infrastructure investments meet the needs of local communities and deliver value for Ontario taxpayers. This investment includes approximately $2 billion for the 2025–26 school year to repair and maintain schools, which will support safe, healthy, accessible and supportive learning environments. For the 2025–26 school year, 41 new schools and additions have opened, creating over 17,700 student spaces, including five French-language school projects."
November 4, 2025

e-News
November 4, 2025

Excerpt: "Canada-wide early learning and child care transfer payments are expected to increase from $7.9 billion in 2025-26 to $8.5 billion in 2029-30, reflecting 3 per cent per year growth for four years starting in 2027-28 as announced in 2025. This also includes $625 million over four years, beginning in 2023-24, for the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund."
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November 3, 2025

'Combating hate and celebrating queer joy as resistance': OISE alumna Dr. JJ Wright has been named one of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40. Dr. Wright, a scholar, advocate and graduate of the Department of Social Justice Education, is currently a professor at MacEwan University, teaching and researching in the areas of sociology and gender studies.
October 31, 2025

Earnings of ECEs across Canada compared to poverty thresholds in urban and rural regions (Full Version Chart)

Updated: October 2025

The full version of this chart presents a comprehensive comparison of Early Childhood Educator (ECE) earnings across Canada, measured against the Market Basket Measure (MBM), a benchmark used by Statistics Canada to define poverty thresholds, also known as the living wage. The data highlights substantial wage disparities, with ECE salaries often falling below the living wage in most jurisdictions and, in some cases, barely exceeding it.

- Threshold Comparison: In many provinces and territories, ECE earnings sit just above or dangerously close to the living wage line, illustrating the financial instability faced by much of the workforce.
- Living Wage Gap: Only a few jurisdictions—typically those with stronger wage policies—see ECE salaries meeting or exceeding the local living wage. In most regions, ECEs earn wages that make it difficult to afford necessities despite their essential role in early childhood education.
- Regional Variations: Provinces and territories with higher government investment in child care and workforce compensation show smaller wage gaps, while others lag, exacerbating challenges related to recruitment and retention in the sector.

This data reinforces the urgent need for increased public investment, and stronger workforce policies to ensure fair compensation for ECEs and enhance workforce stability.

NOTE: This chart uses the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as a benchmark for poverty thresholds, which is synonymous with the living wage in this context. However, there are multiple ways to define and calculate a living wage based on regional and methodological differences. Information about the MBM can be found here: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dict/az/Definition-eng.cfm?ID=pop165