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Northumberland County celebrated a major milestone this week with the opening of the Canton YMCA Child Care Centre in Port Hope, the last of four new facilities to launch this year.
Together, the centres add 181 licensed child care spaces across Port Hope, Trent Hills and Cobourg, significantly increasing access for families in high-needs areas. The expansion is a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, local municipalities, and child care providers. It builds on previous growth, including 10 new spaces added in Brighton in 2023 and 35 existing spaces converted to the new funding model, moving the County closer to its provincially-set 2026 target of 245 additional child care spaces under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program.
The new centres include the Canton YMCA Child Care Centre with 49 spaces, Ganaraska Child Care Riverside site in Port Hope with 70 spaces, Warkworth YMCA Child Care Centre with 47 spaces, and Cobourg East YMCA Child Care Centre with 15 spaces.
Local leaders highlighted the importance of reusing community facilities to meet demand and praised the collaboration among municipalities, governments, and providers to make the expansion possible. Service providers say the new spaces will help children thrive while giving parents the support they need.
The event at the Canton facility featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of all four centres. Officials noted that the expansion reflects the County’s ongoing commitment to ensuring families across Northumberland have access to high-quality, affordable child care services.
Families and job seekers can learn more about child care availability and Early Years careers at Northumberland.ca/ECE.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
