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Why a Mobility Justice Approach is Needed in Canada’s Early Learning and Child Care Workforce

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Immigration is increasingly being used as a policy lever to address labour shortages in Canada’s early learning and child care (ELCC) sector, linking Canadian child care centres to global care chains in new ways. Using a mobility justice lens and 16 in-depth interviews with newcomer early childhood educators in Newfoundland and Labrador, this article examines how power and inequality shape their experiences. It identifies exploitation, deskilling, and blocked mobility as key challenges, calling for ethical, equitable strategies to sustain and build Canada’s ELCC workforce.

Source: Journal of Childhood Studies

DOI: 10.18357/jcs515202622538

Author: Yolande Pottie-Sherman

Institution: Memorial University of Newfoundland

Language: English

Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Pratt Foundation