As part of my Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, I sought to deepen my understanding of workforce conditions within the sector. Through an in-depth document analysis of Knowing Our Numbers, an Ontario workforce report, I explored two key questions: How do structural and policy-related factors contribute to workforce instability in Ontario’s ECE field, and how are current policies addressing this challenge? Following a review of relevant literature and the broader policy landscape, the report was analyzed, and its findings were compared with existing academic research. In this simulation, you can make policy decisions and explore their outcomes, guided by my research and grounded in Ontario’s real policy landscape.

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreement is a federal–provincial initiative launched in 2021 to make childcare more affordable, accessible, and high-quality across Canada. It aims to reduce parent fees to an average of $10-a-day while expanding licensed childcare spaces and supporting workforce development. The program is implemented differently in each province, with funding agreements guiding how goals like affordability, expansion, and educator wages are achieved. This simulation and my research take a look at workforce conditions in Ontario's childcare sector post-CWELCC implementation. (3,4)

Knowing Our Numbers is a workforce-focused report developed by a team of field experts in collaboration with the College of Early Childhood Educators and regional government children’s services managers. The report offers a comprehensive overview of the ECEC workforce, including data on supply, compensation, qualifications, retention, and policy-relevant trends. It draws on survey responses from 5,949 participants across Ontario, including 3,292 Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs), 1,311 non-RECEs, 960 supervisors/directors, 44 licensed home childcare agency staff, 108 EarlyON employees, and 234 licensed home childcare providers. (1)