Grey County Loses 39 Child-Care Spaces in Provincial Reallocation

Letters confirm Grey County’s child-care expansion target was reduced by 39 spaces, while federal officials say 750+ remain on track.

Grey County will see fewer child-care spaces than originally expected under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program after the province reallocated part of the county’s proposed expansion earlier this year.

The update comes from correspondence included in Grey County Council’s consent agenda for September 25, 2025. The letters — from the Ontario Ministry of Education, federal officials, and Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound MPP Paul Vickers — confirm that 39 planned spaces have been reassigned to other regions.

The change stems from a provincial “space recalibration” exercise carried out in 2024. At that time, Consolidated Municipal Service Managers, including Grey County, were asked to update their space creation plans through 2026.

Grey County reported capacity for 554 new spaces, but 39 of those were not tied to a confirmed facility or implementation plan.

In a letter to Grey County Warden Andrea Matrosovs dated August 20, Vickers wrote that the province redirected the 39 spaces “to regions in the province that could put them to use.” He added that 27 municipalities saw reductions, including larger urban centres such as Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton, as well as rural counties like Oxford and Wellington.

“This redistribution exercise was not done to limit program access in Grey County; rather, it was done to ensure that spaces that our region did not have the capacity to deliver on were allocated to other families across the province,” Vickers wrote.

While the recalibration reduced Grey’s expansion target, the federal government confirmed that more than 750 total spaces are still slated to be created in the County under the CWELCC program.

Ontario’s Ministry of Education said all allocations are now finalized but encouraged the County to document any new expansion plans in future reporting cycles.

The $30-billion CWELCC program was launched in 2021 with the goal of reducing fees and expanding access to child care across Canada. Ontario committed to creating 86,000 spaces by 2026 under its bilateral agreement with Ottawa.

Source: Grey County Council agenda for September 25, 2025, consent agenda item 6a.