Update on Licensed Child Care Facility for Howick Township

Update on Licenced Child Care Centre for Howick Township

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE ON LICENCED CHILDCARE FACILITY PROPOSED FOR HOWICK TOWNSHIP

Gorrie, ON – December 5, 2025 – After hearing from several Howick residents over the past two weeks, Howick Township Council and staff want to assure its residents that the Township has not approved the construction of a $5 million licensed child care facility. 

“The $5 million dollar cost estimate was the only financial information available (based on the current drawings) to present to Council at their November 18, 2025 Council meeting”, says CAO/Clerk Caitlin Gillis. 

“In order to be eligible to receive available infrastructure funding and to move forward with amending the drawing, staff required Council’s approval to move forward with the project. Staff have only just begun determining the size, licencing requirements and features needed in order to bring 49 licensed child care spaces to Howick Township”, says Howick Reeve Doug Harding. “Council has instructed Township staff to significantly reduce the size of the proposed child care centre and its overall budget to get to a final project amount that Council feels is fiscally responsible to Howick residents and that they can support moving ahead with”.    

Howick Township staff and a member of Council toured a 6200 square foot Wellington County child care facility this week that was built in 2019 for 64 licensed child care spaces. While the first drawings and cost estimate of Howick’s proposed child care centre was measuring 14,000 square feet and an estimated cost of $5 million, this was simply a starting point, and staff are continuing to work to significantly reducing the footprint and overall cost of the project.

“I want to emphasize that Council’s endorsement of the project at our November 18th Council meeting wasn’t for moving ahead with a $5 million-dollar facility,” said Gillis. “It was giving permission for the Township to apply for $2 million dollars of available Start-Up Infrastructure Funds through the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program and for staff to continue to work with an architect on decreasing the size of the facility. As the drawings are amended accordingly, staff will bring additional information and updated cost estimates to Council and post them publicly via the Township website and social media accounts”. 

Staff also plan to propose that Council consider multiple methods to fund the project, including applying for additional CWELCC funds in 2026, utilizing some municipal reserve funds, a sponsorship fundraising program and the potential of a low-interest rate loan through Infrastructure Ontario. Howick residents will be able to provide their input through the 2026 Municipal Budget process as more accurate information is available and released.

Media Contact:

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