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A new licensed child care centre has officially opened in Portland, expanding access to affordable child care for families in Rideau Lakes.
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in partnership with the Township of Rideau Lakes and the Rideau Lakes Early Learning Centre, announced the opening of the new centre at 2767 Highway 15. The facility, located inside the Emmanuel Heritage Centre, officially welcomed its first children on January 5, 2026.
The centre provides 23 newly created, affordable, high-quality licensed child care spaces and is part of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care initiative. The expansion aligns with the Leeds and Grenville CWELCC Directed Growth Strategy, jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments.
Under that strategy, 685 new affordable licensed child care spaces are planned across Leeds and Grenville by the end of 2026. Since 2022, the County has already delivered 370 of those spaces.
Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, praised the opening, calling it “tremendous news for parents who rely on high-quality, affordable care,” and reaffirmed his commitment to expanding access in rural communities.
Leeds and Grenville Warden Corinna Smith-Gatcke said the new centre represents an important step in meeting both current and future child care needs, helping parents pursue work and education while giving children a strong start close to home.
In addition to the Portland site, a new Kindergarten and School Age program — Centre éducatif Les Petits Trésors — has opened at Lombardy Public School.
Together, the two projects add 36 CWELCC Directed Growth Strategy spaces within the Rideau Lakes community.
