Ontario will increase salaries for early childhood educators to alleviate labour shortages

Ontario will raise the minimum wage for early childhood educators (ECE) to $23.86 per hour in 2023, up from the initially planned $20 to address staff shortages. This was part of the childcare workforce strategy released by Education Minister Stephen Lecce in November. This increase is expected to position Ontario’s starting wages for ECEs among Canada’s highest from being one of the lowest. The province aims to create 86,000 new spaces by 2026 under the national childcare system, despite warnings of a potential shortage of 8,500 ECEs by then.