Dufferin County advocates for child care, infrastructure funding at AMO Conference

Written By SAM ODROWSKI

Dufferin County council members and senior staff are in Ottawa this week for the 2026 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference, where they will press the province on child care funding, regional infrastructure priorities and support for the Town of Grand Valley.

The conference, which runs from Aug. 16 to 19, brings together representatives from Ontario's 444 municipalities to meet with provincial ministers and take part in policy discussions.

This year, Dufferin County is meeting with provincial representatives to discuss improvements to the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Program (CWELCC), according to a county press release. The county is also joining the Western Ontario Wardens Caucus in advocating on infrastructure and housing, mental health and homelessness, and workforce and economic issues, and is supporting the Town of Grand Valley in delegations related to funding for a wastewater sewage pumping station project and the reporting burden municipalities face.

Warden Lisa Post, who is attending a separate delegation on CWELCC in her role as warden, said some local child-care providers have raised concerns about how the program is funded in Ontario, which she said is limiting the creation of new childcare spaces.

“There's some funding concerns from providers and how they're being paid for the program, which is making it limiting for us to get additional childcare spaces,” Post said. “We believe that the program is a good one, but there are some definite opportunities to make sure that it's as beneficial to the providers as it is to the recipients.”

Post said the conference offers a chance to demonstrate the county's work while advocating for local priorities.

“The AMO Conference provides an excellent opportunity for Dufferin County to show how we're supporting provincial priorities and getting results for our community,” Post said. “This year, we look forward to advocating for improvements to the CWELCC Program and on regional priorities like infrastructure and housing, mental health and homelessness, and the workforce and the economy, and supporting our partners at Grand Valley in their delegations.”

AMO is using this year's conference to call for provincial action on long-term infrastructure funding for housing and the economy, full funding for provincially mandated health and social services, and coordinated action with municipal and federal partners on homelessness.

Outgoing AMO president Robin Jones said municipalities are increasingly being asked to do more without matching provincial investment.

“Local governments turn policy into everyday results — building neighbourhoods, running transit, keeping parks safe, and delivering the services that help communities thrive,” Jones said. “Municipalities are stepping up... but we need the province to start paying its fair share of capital and operating expenses.”

Post said the value of attending AMO lies less in immediate funding announcements and more in sustaining relationships with the province.

“No minister is sitting there with a chequebook and going to write you a cheque at AMO,” Post said. “It just doesn't happen... it's not necessarily about turning these delegations into instant gratification when it comes to money.”

She pointed to funding the county has secured in recent years through that ongoing relationship-building, including support for a countywide transit initiative and the HART Hub Dufferin, a provincially funded homelessness and addictions recovery hub that opened in Orangeville earlier this year.