Ontario’s Child Care System Relying on Underqualified Workers as It Faces ‘Retention Crisis,’ New Report Says

Children play at a daycare centre in Stouffville, Ont., on May 2, 2025. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Ontario’s child-care system is increasingly relying on underqualified staff for licensed daycare centres as it faces a shortage in trained professionals, according to a new industry analysis.

The report, Analysis of Director Approvals in Ontario’s Licensed Child Care System (2021 to 2025), published by non-profit Building Blocks for Child Care, looked at data obtained through freedom of information requests focused on the use of director approvals, which are permits that allow individuals who are not registered early childhood educators to work in child care centres.

The report found a “sharp and sustained increase” in the number of director approvals across Ontario’s licensed child care industry.

“Originally intended as a temporary measure to address short-term staffing gaps, DAs have now become a structural mechanism to keep programs operational amid chronic shortages of qualified educators,” the report authors said.

The analysis notes that between 2020 and 2025, the number of child care centres in the province that obtained the director approvals increased by 1,156 percent. The authors say the rise in the permits has outpaced the development of registered early childhood educators, demonstrating that Ontario’s child care system is “becoming increasingly reliant on non-qualified staff to maintain basic licensing compliance.”

To become a registered early childhood educator in Ontario, a two-year diploma or similar education approved by the College of Early Childhood Educators is required, along with first aid and child CPR certification, police record checks, and experience working with young children.

The reliance on director approvals may also challenge Ontario’s ability to meet expansion targets for the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement, the report authors say. As part of the agreement, which Ontario signed with the federal government in March 2022, the province said it would reduce child-care fees for children under six years old to $10 per day, while increasing child care spaces.

An audit by the Ontario auditor general released in October 2025 said the Ontario government had only created about 36,000 or 75 percent of the child spaces it had committed to creating by the end of 2024. The audit noted that the province has committed to creating 86,000 new child care spaces by the end of 2026.

Permits Increasing Over Time

Building Blocks for Child Care says the total number of director approvals issued each year between 2020 and 2025 increased by 4,124 approvals (1,156 percent) over the five-year period. In 2020/21 there were 159 permits issued, which increased to 1,997 in 2024/25, according to the report.

“The total number of DAs for 2025-26 (as of May 30) was 397, representing an average monthly trend of about 199 DAs. If this trend continues, the total number of DAs for 2025-26 will surpass the 2024-25 levels by year-end,” the report authors said.

Regional Breakdown

The report breaks down the number of permits issued to child care centres for non-qualified employees by region, with the east region —which includes Ottawa, Kingston, and Cornwall—seeing the highest number of director approvals issued with 1,000 permits approved for 1,190 child care centres.

A further breakdown into cities saw Halton record the highest number of permits approved at 664, followed by Ottawa at 633, and York with 568 director approvals issued over the five-year period.

The report authors noted that they did not have the data for how many permits were issued per child care centre, noting that a single centre may receive multiple permits while another centre may have none.

Recommendations

The report makes four recommendations for the Ontario government to support the licensed child care sector, including strengthening retention and compensation by developing a province-wide pay grid.

“The increase in DAs between 2020–21 and 2024–25 was approximately 26 percent of the rise in RECE membership,” the authors wrote, adding that it demonstrated a “retention crisis.”

“Educators are entering the profession but leaving due to poor compensation, limited career progression, and challenging working conditions.”

The report says by investing in fair compensation and retention supports, “Ontario can move beyond crisis management and toward a sustainable, experienced child care system.”

The authors also call for the province to reduce the industry’s reliance on the permits by implementing time limits and renewal restrictions. They also recommend requiring non-qualified child care workers be held accountable to professional standards, saying that currently those hired under a director approval are not held accountable in the same way that registered early childhood educators are.

Lastly, the report also calls for Ontario to work toward a “fully qualified workforce” for the early learning and child care system.