Let me start with my own family’s story, because it’s the same one I hear from parents all over West Perth.
My wife Abbey and I spent nearly three years on the waitlist for Perth Care before we were finally able to secure a spot. Three years. Our son has gone from baby to preschooler while our name sat on that list. We were fortunate enough to find a wonderful home daycare to fill the gap while we waited but I know that isn’t always the easiest or most affordable option for families. Plenty of parents in Mitchell and across West Perth are doing the same math we did: shifts adjusted, grandparents called in, opportunities passed up, all because there simply aren’t enough full time childcare spaces to go around.
When families can’t find full time childcare, it’s not just a family problem. It’s an economic one. Employers can’t fill roles. Parents — disproportionately mothers — cut hours or leave jobs they want to keep. Young families deciding whether to move to a growing community like ours quietly put childcare availability near the top of their list. If West Perth wants young families to choose us, childcare is part of that decision whether we like it or not.
Now, the honest part: municipalities have limited direct jurisdiction over childcare. Funding and licensing largely sit with the provincial government, and anyone who tells you a ward councillor can simply fix this is not being straight with you. I won’t be that candidate.
But “limited jurisdiction” is not the same as “nothing we can do,” and I refuse to use it as an excuse. Here is what West Perth can realistically do:
First, be a loud, organized voice to the province. Municipalities carry weight when they speak clearly and together about what their communities need. I will advocate — to our provincial representatives and through every channel available to council — for more childcare spaces and funding directed to communities like ours.
I’ve already started doing that at the council table. On April 7, 2026, I stood up at a public meeting in Mitchell and asked council directly what is being done about the Perth Care waitlist and schools that are bursting at the seams. The answer I got was that council is very well aware of the problem, that it’s not unique to West Perth, and that the municipality is working on it jointly with Stratford — but that “things like that just don’t happen overnight.” I understand that. What I don’t accept is that awareness is where it ends. The province itself admitted, at Perth County’s Queen’s Park Day on May 14, 2026, that the $10-a-day target hasn’t been hit and that the real bottleneck is staffing — early childhood educators can’t be recruited and retained fast enough. That’s exactly the kind of pressure a council can help apply, loudly and with specific asks, instead of quietly waiting.
Second, look at our own house. Planning and zoning rules should not quietly block childcare spaces where they make sense. When new developments are proposed, childcare belongs in the conversation about what a growing neighbourhood needs — not as an afterthought.
Third, get creative with what we control. Before- and after-school programs need space. Municipal facilities sit empty at hours when working parents are scrambling. Partnerships between the municipality, schools, and local providers won’t solve the whole problem, but they can close real gaps for real families — including mine, once upon a time.
Fourth, keep the pressure visible. Families on waitlists feel invisible. Regular public updates on where advocacy stands and what local options exist cost little and matter a lot to parents planning their lives. When the province next comes to the table — as it did at Queen’s Park Day — residents should be able to see what their municipality asked for and what came back.
Three years on a waitlist taught my family that this system runs on parents quietly coping. I’d rather see a council that helps carry some of that weight — honestly about what it can do, and committed to doing it.
If you’re a parent on a waitlist, a provider trying to expand, or a grandparent holding it all together, I want to hear your story. Reach out anytime — I read everything, and I respond.