Wage grids for early childhood educators
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to work with provinces, territories and Indigenous governments to create and fund fair, long‑term wage grids and a federal ECE workforce strategy ensuring livable wages and improved working conditions.
Why we would sign this petition
- Establishes fair wage grids and dedicated funding to raise ECE pay, which could reduce the high early‑career turnover petitioners report.
- Builds a federal workforce strategy covering livable wages, benefits, retirement security and training, improving job quality and likely care quality.
- Secures long‑term federal transfers and seeks provincial/territorial matching, creating predictable funding for workforce standards rather than short‑term grants.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Would require substantial federal transfers and provincial matching, increasing public spending and competing with other budget priorities.
- Wage‑setting and labour policy are mainly provincial; coordinating uniform wage grids nationwide may be constitutionally or logistically difficult.
- Higher wages alone may not resolve staffing or quality issues without concurrent reforms on class sizes, training standards and oversight.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada The current wage allocated to Early Childhood Educators is insufficient and does not reflect the labour Early Childhood Educators provide; The starting wages for Early Childhood Educators are too low in correlation with the necessary qualifying education; 50% of Early Childhood Educators leave the field in the first 5 years; Low pay and high class sizes are affecting Early Childhood Educators’ mental health; The median pay of $21 an hour for Early Childhood Educators in Ontario is insufficient to survive on; and Ontario, along with Alberta, are the only provinces that have not committed to developing and implementing a wage grid for Early Childhood Educators. We, the undersigned, Early Childhood Educators, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Work with the provinces and territories for the creation of fair wage grids in all jurisdictions; 2. Transfer dedicated and long-term funds to provinces, territories and Indigenous governments that support standards of working conditions, including fair wage grids; 3. Seek provincial and territorial government commitments to match federal contributions for the Early Learning and Child Care workforce; and 4. Put in place a federal early childhood education and child care workforce strategy that ensures livable wages, better benefits, retirement security, adequate working conditions, education and training. 1. Work with the provinces and territories for the creation of fair wage grids in all jurisdictions; 2. Transfer dedicated and long-term funds to provinces, territories and Indigenous governments that support standards of working conditions, including fair wage grids; 3. Seek provincial and territorial government commitments to match federal contributions for the Early Learning and Child Care workforce; and 4. Put in place a federal early childhood education and child care workforce strategy that ensures livable wages, better benefits, retirement security, adequate working conditions, education and training. 4. Put in place a federal early childhood education and child care workforce strategy that ensures livable wages, better benefits, retirement security, adequate working conditions, education and training.
Government response
No government response is available yet.