Wage Enhancement

Providing the best possible care for our children also means recruiting and retaining the best possible Registered Early Childhood Educators and child care program staff. In doing so, children are better able to learn and parents can be confident in the quality of their child care programs.

The Province implemented Wage Enhancement in the licensed child care sector in order to achieve a number of key goals:

• To close the wage gap between Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) working in the education system and those working in licensed child care.
• To help stabilize child care operators by supporting their ability to retain qualified staff.
• To reduce poverty by supporting greater employment and income security.

In order to meet these goals, the wage enhancement initiative is intended to be an ongoing investment. Documents on this page are to be used by Licensed Child Care Providers in the 2026 application process to the County of Lambton for the Wage Enhancement Grant.

Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
No extensions or exceptions will be granted.