New Licenced Child Care Facility Proposed for Howick Township

New Licenced Child Care Facility Proposed for Howick Township

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gorrie, ON – November 25, 2025 – The Township of Howick is pleased to announce its intention to build a child care facility to bring 49 licenced childcare spaces to Howick Township by the end of 2026. 

Howick Township has applied to the County of Huron for $2 million dollars of infrastructure funding under the 2022-2026 Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, which is a federal-provincial agreement between the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to make licenced child care more affordable and accessible. 

The application proposes the construction of a licenced child care facility to be located adjacent to the Howick Community Centre. Staff are planning for an opening operating capacity of 10 infant spaces, 15 toddler spaces and 24 preschool spaces, with the ability to expand the centre in the future based on community need. A dedicated Before and After School room is also included in the proposed plans to accommodate the program Howick Township already offers to Howick Central Public School students. The Before and After School room would also be utilized for Howick’s day camp program that runs annually throughout the summer months, during holiday school breaks and on P.A. Days. 

After receiving Howick Council’s endorsement to proceed with the application for funding, Howick staff are working together with all partners to ensure that plans for the facility meet all licensing requirements, regulatory standards and quality benchmarks so that Howick families can have reliable, inclusive and affordable child care close to home.

“Making licenced child care accessible for Howick Township residents is a top priority,” emphasizes Howick Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk Caitlin Gillis. “Anyone with young children knows there is a real childcare crisis right now. Being able to offer 49 childcare spaces to our community is life-changing for many local families. Most families require both parents to be employed in the workforce just to afford the everyday essentials, but what do you do when there is nowhere to send your preschool aged children within your community? It’s a big problem that needs to be addressed.” 

Howick only has one licensed, home-based child care provider currently offering six childcare spaces for the entire community of over 4050 people. Over 7.6% of Howick’s population is between the ages of 0-4, greater than the overall Huron County 0-4 population rate of 5.6%. 

“We believe that smaller, rural communities like Howick Township that are underserved have a greater need for childcare spaces and we would like to provide that for our residents,” said Gillis. “Establishing a licenced child care facility in Howick presents a long-term strategic investment that aligns with the municipality’s goals to attract and retain young families by increasing access to affordable, high-quality child care and to support workforce participation, by enabling parents to return to or remain in employment. Access to quality child care is also crucial for local economic growth and small business sustainability. It allows parents of young children to be available for work, reducing employee turnover, boosting productivity and reducing absenteeism.” 

The proposed new centre is part of the 264 new child care spaces allocated to the County of Huron to be created before the end of 2026 through the CWELCC initiative. Preliminary cost estimates for the licenced child care facility are approximately $5 million, but Howick staff and a volunteer child care committee are working diligently to reduce those costs while maintaining the number of available spaces. Once all plans have been finalized and costing information has been received, Howick will provide an update to the community including fundraising plans for the construction of the facility. The $2 million-dollar CWELCC funding is a huge step towards making the facility a reality for Howick families.

Media Contact:

Caitlin Gillis
Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk
Township of Howick
clerk@howick.ca