St. Thomas-Elgin Child Care Directed Growth Plan for 2026
The City of St. Thomas is committed to ensuring that families have access to high-quality, affordable, and licensed child care. Our Child Care Directed Growth plan focuses on expanding spaces across St. Thomas and Elgin County to meet community needs while supporting providers through the application process.
As part of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, St. Thomas-Elgin continues to expand the system by adding new spaces by the end of 2026.
Application Process
We are currently accepting applications for spaces in the NOT FOR PROFIT sector in the following groups:
At this time, we will not be accepting any applications from the following:
- FOR PROFIT providers
- Licensed home child care
Application from any For Profit or Home Child Care Providers will be not reviewed or considered. Please watch this website for any updates to available For Profit or Home Child Care spaces.
Providers are asked to complete and submit the application form and submit to [email protected]
CLICK HERE to access the application package.
Applications will be assessed on a first come, first served basis. Applications will be considered for spots in 2026. The application process will remain open until all the community-based spaces have been approved for 2026.
Providers will be notified via email to confirm their application has been received along with an anticipated date of response.
If you wish to dispute the decision, please submit an email within one week of received the denial to [email protected] . The dispute will be reviewed in accordance to the application process and a written response will be provided upon completion of the review.
Assessment Criteria
Applications will be reviewed using the following criteria:
- Not-For-Profit status and current licensing in Ontario
- Location in high-priority communities, with evidence of improved access for underserved populations as outlined in the current Service Plan (see below)
- Follow all CWELCC Funding Guidelines including:
- Cap on fees and fee reduction
- Cost based Funding
- Staffing
- Start-up grant funding
- Infrastructure funding
Priority Neighborhoods (pg. 18 of service plan)
Do you have questions or need help with the application process?
For more information, please contact us at: [email protected]
Additional Resources to support the application process:
Ontario Child Care and Early Years Act
Child Care Licensing
Funding Guidelines