Publications
A collection of publications written by Atkinson Centre team members, in addition to important articles, documents and reports related to early learning and child care.
Delivering early childhood education (ECE) through public schools has garnered increasing attention due to its potential to address systemic challenges within the early education workforce. These series of papers explore the benefits of integrating early childhood programs into public school systems, focusing on how this approach improves workforce conditions, enhances professionalism, increases professional learning opportunities, and promotes equity across the sector.
Graph: ECE Earnings Across Canada Relative to Poverty Thresholds in Urban and Rural Areas (Using the Market Basket Measure)
The graph presents Early Childhood Educator (ECE) earnings across Canada, comparing them to provincial and territorial poverty thresholds using the Market Basket Measure. The data reveals significant wage disparities, with ECE salaries falling below the living wage in most regions and, in some cases, barely exceeding poverty thresholds.
- Poverty Threshold Comparison: In many provinces and territories, ECE wages hover near or just above the poverty line, highlighting the financial instability of the profession.
- Living Wage Gap: Only a handful of jurisdictions鈥攚ith stronger wage policies鈥攐ffer ECE salaries that meet or exceed the local living wage. In most areas, ECEs struggle to afford basic necessities despite their essential role in early learning.
- Regional Variations: Provinces with higher government investment in child care and workforce compensation tend to have narrower wage gaps, while others lag behind, exacerbating challenges in recruitment and retention.
This data reinforces the urgent need for wage grids, increased public investment, and stronger workforce policies to ensure fair compensation for ECEs and enhance workforce stability.
- Poverty Threshold Comparison: In many provinces and territories, ECE wages hover near or just above the poverty line, highlighting the financial instability of the profession.
- Living Wage Gap: Only a handful of jurisdictions鈥攚ith stronger wage policies鈥攐ffer ECE salaries that meet or exceed the local living wage. In most areas, ECEs struggle to afford basic necessities despite their essential role in early learning.
- Regional Variations: Provinces with higher government investment in child care and workforce compensation tend to have narrower wage gaps, while others lag behind, exacerbating challenges in recruitment and retention.
This data reinforces the urgent need for wage grids, increased public investment, and stronger workforce policies to ensure fair compensation for ECEs and enhance workforce stability.
Excerpt: "Low wages deter new graduates from entering the child-care field and drive away those already employed. Of the 4,200 early childhood educators that Ontario colleges graduate annually, fewer than 60 per cent enter licensed child care, and only 40 per cent remain after five years. Small wonder for the exodus. One in five child-care staff responding to our survey told us they hold a second job to make ends meet. Over 55 per cent of couple families, and 83 per cent of lone parent families, are concerned about their housing."
Legislated qualifications of child care centre supervisors, ECE qualified, and non-ECE qualified staff
Description: A comprehensive collection of Canada-wide legislated qualifications of child care centre supervisors, ECE qualified, and non-ECE qualified staff.
R脡DUIRE LES EXIGENCES_Comment la r茅duction des qualifications des 茅ducateurs de la petite enfance menace la qualit茅 des services de garde
Excerpt: "La penurie d'educateurs de la petite enfance (EPE) qualifies a freine les efforts d'expansion des places dans le cadre du systeme pancanadien d'apprentissage de la petite enfance et de garde des jeunes enfants (syst猫me d'AGJE). Cette p茅nurie d'educateurs a incite certains decideurs politiques de l'Ontario a chercher des raccourcis, notamment a remettre en question la necessite d'un dipl么me de deux ans pour 锚tre admissible comme educateur de la petite enfance. La reduction des qualifications des 茅ducateurs ou d'autres strat茅gies de d茅qualification, comme l'augmentation des ratios, ne sont pas des solutions."
Lowering the Bar: How Reducing Early Childhood Educator Qualifications Threatens Child Care Quality
Excerpt: "The shortage of qualified early childhood educators (ECEs) has stifled space expansion efforts under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) plan. This scarcity of educators has caused some Ontario policymakers to look for shortcuts, including questioning the need for a two-year diploma to qualify as an ECE. Reducing educator qualifications or other de-qualification strategies, such as increasing ratios, are not solutions. ECEs are critical to positive child and family outcomes and are the foundation of a high-quality early learning and child care system."
Excerpt: "The world is witnessing some of the highest levels of conflict in decades, with more than 110 armed conflicts occurring across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The impact of these wars on children is vast and multifaceted. The trauma inflicted is enduring and will shape the rest of their lives 鈥 and by extension, the societies in which they, and we live. As researchers who study how public policies can intervene to reduce adverse outcomes for children, we contend that wars are not bound by geography. Airstrikes terrorize children in conflict zones, while those living in the nations involved in these conflicts also experience trauma in the form of poverty, neglect, and discrimination."
Vison-Based Child Care Service Planning
Dr. Petr Varmuza
Excerpt: "Ontario鈥檚 first 鈥淪ervice Plan for Child Care Services鈥 (1992) came into existence as a negotiated response to successive provincial governments鈥 dislike of Toronto鈥檚 long-standing effort to move beyond the administration of the child care subsidy system and equitably manage the provision of services across, what was then, Metropolitan Toronto. Additionally, the provision of municipally operated child care centres was a special target, as it is now, regardless the important function they played in the most disadvantaged communities.
Since then, service plans became a provincially mandated documents usually produced on a five-year cycle consisting of listening to the service providers and soliciting public input primarily from parents searching for child care or child care subsidy. Rarely there is a formal, public review of the accomplishments since the approval of the previous plan, including the full range of successes and failures. Once approved by the municipal authority, they often undergo minimum public scrutiny, ongoing evaluation and review."
Excerpt: "Ontario鈥檚 first 鈥淪ervice Plan for Child Care Services鈥 (1992) came into existence as a negotiated response to successive provincial governments鈥 dislike of Toronto鈥檚 long-standing effort to move beyond the administration of the child care subsidy system and equitably manage the provision of services across, what was then, Metropolitan Toronto. Additionally, the provision of municipally operated child care centres was a special target, as it is now, regardless the important function they played in the most disadvantaged communities.
Since then, service plans became a provincially mandated documents usually produced on a five-year cycle consisting of listening to the service providers and soliciting public input primarily from parents searching for child care or child care subsidy. Rarely there is a formal, public review of the accomplishments since the approval of the previous plan, including the full range of successes and failures. Once approved by the municipal authority, they often undergo minimum public scrutiny, ongoing evaluation and review."
Getting it right from the start
Submission to the Government of Canada's Guide on Building a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System, August 2024
The Atkinson Centre urges the Government of Canada to 鈥榞et it right from the start鈥 by enforcing the principles governing the building of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Child system. Profit has no place in child care. Quality does.
The Atkinson Centre urges the Government of Canada to 鈥榞et it right from the start鈥 by enforcing the principles governing the building of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Child system. Profit has no place in child care. Quality does.
This is the 5th edition of the Early Childhood Education Report (ECER). Established in 2011, the report is released every three years to evaluate provincial/territorial early years services against a 15-point scale. Results are populated from detailed profiles of each province and territory. The ECER scale is organized around 5 categories with 21 benchmarks forming a common set of minimum criteria contributing to the delivery of quality programming. This report captures changes to early years services from March 2020 to March 2023. As such, it is able to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on service provision, as well as the funding and requirements of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements (CWELCC) at the half-way mark.
Earnings of ECEs across Canada compared to poverty thresholds in urban and rural regions (Full Version Chart)
Updated: February 2025
The full version of this chart presents a comprehensive comparison of Early Childhood Educator (ECE) earnings across Canada, measured against the Market Basket Measure (MBM), a benchmark used by Statistics Canada to define poverty thresholds, also known as the living wage. The data highlights substantial wage disparities, with ECE salaries often falling below the living wage in most jurisdictions and, in some cases, barely exceeding it.
- Threshold Comparison: In many provinces and territories, ECE earnings sit just above or dangerously close to the living wage line, illustrating the financial instability faced by much of the workforce.
- Living Wage Gap: Only a few jurisdictions鈥攖ypically those with stronger wage policies鈥攕ee ECE salaries meeting or exceeding the local living wage. In most regions, ECEs earn wages that make it difficult to afford necessities despite their essential role in early childhood education.
- Regional Variations: Provinces and territories with higher government investment in child care and workforce compensation show smaller wage gaps, while others lag, exacerbating challenges related to recruitment and retention in the sector.
This data reinforces the urgent need for increased public investment, and stronger workforce policies to ensure fair compensation for ECEs and enhance workforce stability.
NOTE: This chart uses the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as a benchmark for poverty thresholds, which is synonymous with the living wage in this context. However, there are multiple ways to define and calculate a living wage based on regional and methodological differences. Information about the MBM can be found here: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dict/az/Definition-eng.cfm?ID=pop165
The full version of this chart presents a comprehensive comparison of Early Childhood Educator (ECE) earnings across Canada, measured against the Market Basket Measure (MBM), a benchmark used by Statistics Canada to define poverty thresholds, also known as the living wage. The data highlights substantial wage disparities, with ECE salaries often falling below the living wage in most jurisdictions and, in some cases, barely exceeding it.
- Threshold Comparison: In many provinces and territories, ECE earnings sit just above or dangerously close to the living wage line, illustrating the financial instability faced by much of the workforce.
- Living Wage Gap: Only a few jurisdictions鈥攖ypically those with stronger wage policies鈥攕ee ECE salaries meeting or exceeding the local living wage. In most regions, ECEs earn wages that make it difficult to afford necessities despite their essential role in early childhood education.
- Regional Variations: Provinces and territories with higher government investment in child care and workforce compensation show smaller wage gaps, while others lag, exacerbating challenges related to recruitment and retention in the sector.
This data reinforces the urgent need for increased public investment, and stronger workforce policies to ensure fair compensation for ECEs and enhance workforce stability.
NOTE: This chart uses the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as a benchmark for poverty thresholds, which is synonymous with the living wage in this context. However, there are multiple ways to define and calculate a living wage based on regional and methodological differences. Information about the MBM can be found here: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dict/az/Definition-eng.cfm?ID=pop165
