The Corporation of the City of St. Thomas (“the City’) as the (Designated Consolidated Service System Manager/CMSM) has received additional funding under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system to support the creation of additional licensed child care spaces and/or child care centres in St. Thomas and Elgin County. The CMSM is looking to open a number of new non-profit centers or program expansions in 2025 and 2026. The intent is to open a number of new centres within the balance of the CWELCC 701 space allocation. It is desirable to have at least one new 88 space centre in addition to other centres. A number of different sized and configured child care programs serving infants, toddlers and preschoolers will be considered within the remaining space allocation. Due to the evolving nature of the CWELCC system, the City is inviting interested parties to submit their interest and to provide high level information for the City to review prior to the issuance of a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or an amendment to an existing agreement. It is understood that Operators may use the material generated for this Expression of Interest to form part of their RFP submission should they wish to continue to participate. It is expected that at least one Operator will be selected by the City; however, the City reserves the right to split spaces between operators based upon the review of RFP Submissions and available spaces and funding.