Our CARE COUNTS rally is TOMORROW!
The AECEO, the OCBCC, CUPE Ontario, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), the South Asian Womens’ Rights Organization (SAWRO), and Parents for Child Care (P4CC), along with our members, supporters, and community partners will be at Queen’s Park calling on the Ontario government to start treating child care like the provincial responsibility that it is – and take immediate action to improve wages, create more spaces, and continue to reduce fees. Will you be able to join us? RSVP here!
Why are we rallying?
Ontario has signed a four-year extension to their child care agreement, but the new plan freezes wage improvements, stalls fee reductions, and makes no new commitments to space creation. Given that the expansion of affordable child care has greatly benefited the province, the new agreement shows a lack of commitment to improving the sector, especially as other provinces and territories have already reached an average of $10/day and made significant strides in staff compensation. Ontario children, families and educators deserve better. A public action like a rally is one of the many ways we can pressure our elected officials to keep their promise and deliver on better wages, more spaces and lower fees.
The Ontario legislature resumed yesterday (following a 21-week break), and we will be there to welcome them back to work with our demands, but also with our colourful parachutes, noisemakers, community and joy! If you have never been to a rally before, our rallies are a great choice for a first timer! This is a family friendly event, and our group has secured the necessary permits for our demonstration. If you can, you should totally join us!
Event Summary
- Event: Care Counts: Rally for Early Learning and Child Care
- Date & Time: Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM
- Location: South Lawn, Queen’s Park, Toronto
- Key Speakers: Frontline child care workers, labour representatives, and parent leaders. MPPs representing each provincial party have been invited to share remarks.
Early Years Professionals Rise Up TO, our Toronto-based CARE Collective, will be at South Lawn of Queen’s Park starting at 11AM. Come early to grab a coffee or tea (thanks to CUPE 2484!) and hang out with CARE Leads Lish and Crystal until the rally starts. Connect with them on IG for more info!
If you are in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and would like to come to the rally in person, you can get a ride on the bus with the Early Years Coalition – Waterloo Region! Join them on the bus to and from Toronto at no cost, leaving from Fairview Park Mall (Walmart side) at 9:30AM sharp. Registration required due to limited spaces, click here for more info and to register!
Not able to make it to the rally? Here’s how you can get involved:
- Join the phone bank for $10aDay child care: Sunday, November 8th, 3-430PM Parents for Child Care is hosting a phone bank to connect with more parents and build collective power to push our governments to deliver the affordable, accessible child care system families were promised. No experience necessary! We’ll meet on Zoom, review the talking points, practise making calls, and then give everyone a list of supporters to contact. We’ll finish with a group debrief to share what we heard and discuss next steps. All are welcome. Register here!
- Show your support online! Post one of the social media shareables from the Care Counts toolkit, or print our CARE COUNTS, WAGES MATTER poster or colouring sheet and share a picture of you holding it. You can share a few words in the caption about why you’re joining our campaign, or use one of the captions we prepared in the social media toolkit.
- Contact your MPP directly! Using our email template or phone call script, contact your MPP’s office and let them know that early learning and child care is an issue that is important to you and you community. More tips for contacting your elected officials are on the Care Counts MPP Toolkit.