About the 2027 Early Learning and Child Care Conference
Thank you to all of our participants and presenters for attending the 2026 Early Learning and Child Care Conference!
We have now secured the dates for our 2027 ELCC Conference!
2027 ELCC Conference Dates:
- Friday, February 26, 2027 *Optional Registered Event
- Saturday, February 27, 2027
Sunday, February 28, 2027
Location:
- White Oaks Resort and Spa
- 253 Taylor Rd SS4
- Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Registration is open from November 2 to 30, 2026, or until the conference reaches capacity.
To stay informed about conference news, including the 2027 conference registration, download the MNO Education Hub App.
Accommodation
Hotel rooms at White Oaks Resort and Spa are limited. Please email elccevents@metisnation.org for the room block link, available to registered participants from November 2 to January 25, or until it reaches capacity. MNO does not book or cover the cost of accommodations, with the exception of Sponsored Participants.
Certificate of Completion
Following the closing remarks, Professional Development certifications will be available on Sunday, February 28, 2027.
Agenda
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Check-in at the Welcome Table (Optional)
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Kitchen Party (Optional, registered event)
Have you registered for the Kitchen Party? If so, kick off your conference weekend with an evening of food, fun, music, and connection. Enjoy a dinner buffet while playing table games and mingling with fellow conference participants. Check out the Mini Métis Kitchen Party Corner for ideas on using materials from your learning environment to transform your dramatic play centre into a Métis Kitchen Party.
Visit the incredible makers at the Vendor Fair in Studio 10, then stop outside the Grand Event Ballroom foyer for s’mores at the fire pit. At 7:30 pm, Mâmawin’towin: A Métis Kitchen Party takes the stage in a live Métis concert experience with Amanda Rheaume, Alyssa Katrine, Danton Delbaere-Sawchuk, and Kyler Tapscot. Whether you’re here to unwind, meet new people, or hit the dance floor, there’s something for everyone!
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Buffet Dinner
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm | S’mores Around the Fire Pit
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm | Interactive Games
7:00 pm | Infrastructure and Partnership Showcase
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm | Mâmawin’towin: A Métis Kitchen Party
7:00 am – 9:00 am | Breakfast
7:30 am – 9:00 am | Check-in at the Welcome Table
9:00 am – 9:30 am| Opening Prayer and Welcoming Remarks
9:30 am – 10:15 am| Métis 101
10:15 am – 10:30 am | Health Break
10:30 am – 12:00 pm | Samson LaMontagne, “Amuz tway aprend l’Michif avek Mon nuk Samson – Have fun learning Michif with Monok Samson”
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm |Breakout Sessions
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm | Health Break
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Breakout Sessions
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Vendor Fair and Networking
7:00 am – 9:00 am | Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:15 am | Welcome Back
9:15 am – 10:15 am | Alicia Brink, Amanda Rheaume, Brooke Wiens, Megan Southwell and Willie Poll, “Métis Artist Panel”
10:15 am – 10:30 pm | Health Break
10:30 – 12:00 pm | Breakout Sessions
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Closing Remarks and Prayer
Keynote Presenter and Panelists
Alo – Bon jowr! Samson LaMontagne is a Métis / Michif Educator from Regina, Saskatchewan. Samson began learning Michif while attending SUNTEP (Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program) at the University of Saskatchewan over 10 years ago. Samson is now the Métis Education Program Lead with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division.
In his free time, Samson enjoys creating resources and supporting communities across Canada through his Michif Zoom Classes. Samson also provides free Northern, Southern and French Michif content on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube at michifwithmonoksamson.
Samson’s goal is to help with the revitalization of the Michif Language. Samson believes every person who learns Michif not only helps breathe life back into the Language but also answers the ‘Calls to Action’ with Truth and Reconciliation! Samson would like to thank all of the Language Keepers who have helped him along his learning journey. Marsi!
Alicia Brink is a Métis artist and educator living in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is a mother, the owner of Raven Craft Designs, and the PCMNO Regional Councillor representing the Northern Lake Superior Métis Community within the Métis Nation of Ontario. She holds a master’s degree in English and a teaching degree. Deeply connected to the land, her culture, and her community, Alicia is insatiably curious and values creativity, bravery, love, and Spirit. She enjoys storytelling, carving, painting, design, beading, and sewing. Her art practice draws on Métis culture and her relational connections to the land, each other, and universal concepts of love and interconnected realities. As a teacher, Alicia teaches through embodied movement and ritual-like offerings that honour materials, knowledge, and participants.
She builds community in classes and workshops – and has taught at University, College, and for a while in England, as well as running workshops all over Ontario. She has made a birchbark canoe, a Red River cart, a Tikanagan, an octopus bag, and many other items of Métis cultural significance. Her life continues to surprise her in the most beautiful ways.
Instagram: @Raven_Craft_Designs
At the start of every show, whether on stage in Chile, Nashville or Brisbane, Australia, Rheaume introduces herself as a Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario whose Red River roots run deep, interwoven with Anishinaabe relatives from Lac Seul and mixed settler relations. Unfamiliar as some of these places may be to her audience, her introduction is both a greeting and a foundation, situating Rheaume and her songs in multifold lineages of family and community.
In Rheaume’s music, songs of resistance and resilience travel centuries. With a gentle yet unflinching touch, Rheaume has grown to be a chronicler of stories and people whose acts – out of necessity and opportunity alike – cascade through time and space, from the 18th-century Red River Settlement to her own doorstep. With curiosity and empathy, Rheaume has become a bearer of history, unearthing and preserving Métis stories in song. In her gutsy guitar-driven style, punctuated with lively Métis fiddle, Rheaume’s heartland rock is built to last, resolute in rhythm and unswerving in purpose.
For her newest album, The Truth We Hold, Rheaume travelled across the homelands, visiting communities and individuals whose collective experiences make up a living history of Métis joy, strength and struggle. From Northwest Ontario to rural Saskatchewan, Rheaume’s new collection explores moments that have shaped Métis history, from landmark court battles to silenced injustices, transmitting a message of interconnectedness that dissolves geographical and historical distances.
The recipient of the 2024 Spirit of Folk Award, 2023 Canadian Folk Music Award for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year, and the 2023 Capital Music Awards’ Album of the Year, Rheaume has released six full-length albums to date. Beyond recording and touring, Rheaume continues her ever-expanding role as an essential advocate of Indigenous music infrastructure and community. As a co-founder of Ishkode Records and International Indigenous Music Summit and founding board member of the Indigenous Music Office, a commitment to raising Indigenous sovereignty through the medicine of music motivates all of Rheaume’s work.
Website: www.amandarheaume.com
Brooke Wiens is a Métis artist, designer, and educator whose creative practice is rooted in her Indigenous heritage and connection to the landscapes of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. A graduate of the University of Alberta and Brock University, Brooke brings her background in music education and teaching to a practice where nature, pattern, music, and cultural identity intersect.
Brooke’s artistic journey began during her years living in San Francisco, where she immersed herself in the world of Fine Art while supporting her husband. This experience sparked her own exploration of art and design and continues to influence her creative practice today.
Brooke creates paintings, textile art, designs, and educational resources inspired by Métis culture and the natural world. Her work bridges art and education, bringing Métis stories, traditions, and ways of knowing into the classroom and creating opportunities for young learners to connect with Métis culture.
Website: www.metis-expression.ca
Born and raised in Hampton, Ontario, Megan Southwell is a proud Métis Nation of Ontario citizen with roots from Drummond Island and Penetanguishene.
She majored in Indigenous studies and socio-cultural anthropology at the University of Toronto and lives in downtown Toronto as a guest on Treaty 13 territory. A member of the Tkaronto Métis Jiggers, Megan has had Métis dance as an important part of her life for the past decade. She is passionate about sharing Métis history, culture, and way of life, and enjoys both teaching and learning from others, including through Métis dance.
Instagram: @tometisjiggers
Willie Poll is a Métis author from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with more than a decade of experience working in Indigenous education. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of learning alongside Indigenous youth, whose voices, stories, strength, and creativity have become some of the greatest inspirations for her writing.
Through her work as an author and educator, Willie is passionate about creating stories that uplift Indigenous voices, celebrate identity, and help young people see themselves reflected in the pages they read.
Instagram: @willieandpugdolife
Breakout Sessions
Please use these descriptions to inform your top three choices during the registration process. Once sessions are registered for, selections cannot be changed.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE and K-6 sectors.
Description: In this whimsically interactive experience, participants will experience music and movement in the outdoor environment that brings storytelling to life! This session will focus on ways to maximize one’s environment to create fully immersive experiences that engage our senses and spark our sense of adventure, bringing a fresh perspective to storytelling in all learning environments. This session will help you turn storytelling into real-life adventures for children. Through music, movement, and our 5 senses, this session aims to inspire participants to look beyond traditional carpet story time and learn ways to make story time more immersive and interactive.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Description: Discover language resources grounded in Métis culture through stories, songs, and connection to the land. Participants will leave with practical strategies and high-frequency vocabulary they can use right away, and explore ways to bring Métis language and culture into everyday settings. The breakout session will give participants the opportunity to learn what Michif-Fransè is and discover new and existing resources, followed by interactive activities set up at different tables as centres. The centres will include stories with a specific theme and interactive activities that build listening skills while introducing high-frequency vocabulary, second songs with vocabulary, and movement while learning Michif-Fransè. A potpourri of matching games and various ways to play and incorporate them in different sectors, and bring the group back together for a Michif-Fransè Bingo, bringing together high-frequency vocabulary gathered from every centre.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-6, and post-secondary sectors.
Nurturing the Seed is a strengths-based, culturally responsive program offered by MNO Healthy Children and Families staff across Ontario to support Métis children and families in understanding and nurturing their child’s development. Using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2) and individualized Developmental Support Plans, the program combines culturally responsive approaches with practical strategies families can use at home right away—especially while waiting for specialized services and supports.
This interactive workshop will introduce participants to Nurturing the Seed, including early successes and learnings, before moving into hands-on exploration. Through child observation scenarios, participants will identify strengths and developmental opportunities and explore how to support them through everyday experiences such as music, movement, storytelling, play, and connection. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can bring back to their own early learning environments.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE and Kindergarten sectors.
Description: In this interactive session, participants will engage with Métis musical instruments and learn that music and movement are more than song and dance; they help us tell stories, build connection, and enrich our culture.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Description: The Harvesting and Way of Life Team will spend time with participants, sharing stories and offering practical advice on how to connect youth with the land safely and responsibly. The presenters will model the important role parents, caregivers, harvesters, and community members have in transferring knowledge about the land to our youth and each other.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Every behaviour tells a story. This interactive session invites educators to look beyond what a child does and become curious about the experiences beneath what they see. Every child enters our programs carrying a unique story shaped by family, culture, identity, friendships, experiences, strengths and challenges.
The session will intentionally explore how culture, identity, family experiences, relationships, belonging, regulation and environment can influence behaviour. Educators will be encouraged to shift from “What is wrong with this child?” to “What is this child trying to communicate?” – recognizing that behaviour is one chapter of a child’s story, not the whole child. Participants will leave with relationship-based behaviour strategies and practical responses to common challenges; ways to consider culture, identity, family, experience, and belonging when interpreting behaviour; and emotional regulation tools, reflective questions, and resources they can implement immediately.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Around the Kitchen Table invites participants to slow down as the land rests, gathering to share stories while working with natural fibres and creating seasonal tea blends. The workshop explores how keeping our minds and hands busy, and spending meaningful time creating alongside others can support connection, belonging and wellness throughout the winter months.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Explore the power of music and storytelling through a hands-on songwriting experience with Métis singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume. Through small-group discussions, participants will explore the role of music and Métis influences in songwriting and creative expression. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with instruments, discover the key components of songwriting, and explore how words, rhythm and melody can be used to share stories and ideas. Working together, participants will put these elements into practice by creating an original song as a group. This interactive session invites participants to experience how music can inspire connection, creativity, and storytelling, while exploring ways to bring song into learning environments.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE, K-12, and post-secondary sectors.
Explore the connections between art, story, emotion, music and the natural world through a hands-on collaborative mural experience. Participants will learn to express themselves through art while exploring how colour, season, and music can influence artistic expression and movement.
The session will also incorporate Métis history and knowledge, inviting participants to consider how stories and meaning can be expressed through colour and creative practice. Each participant will have the opportunity to paint and decorate their own tile, drawing inspiration from the ideas explored throughout the session. At the end of the workshop, the individual pieces will be brought together to create a larger collaborative image, demonstrating how individual expressions and stories can come together to create something meaningful as a community.
Relevant To: Participants working in the ECE and Kindergarten sectors
Description: This session will offer educators a chance to document their journey to share with children, families, and colleagues. Participants will have an opportunity to share their stories, reflect on their journey and investigate tools and resources to support their observation and documentation skills.
What’s Your Story links to the Four Foundations of How Does Learning Happen? As educators, we are asked to observe and document the lives of the children we work with; however, in our current situation, how can we document our story to share with the children and families we work with? Why did you choose this profession? What drives you every day? We will look at our observation skills and how we can further enhance them.
We’ll also consider what we document, how we get our message across, and what story we want to tell. For the session, we would ask each participant to collect some artifacts that tell their story, inspire memories, and offer some clues to who they are. We will also be exploring how we can implement these ideas into our everyday practice when we return to our centres.
A resource listing will be provided to participants with tools and resources they might consider for their program, as well as kits and resources available for loan or purchase from the ECCDC.
Below is a list of the target audience for the Annual Early Learning and Child Care Conference. The following Early Years Sector roles include, but are not limited to:
- Registered Early Childhood Educators through the Ontario College of Early Childhood Educators.
- Early Childhood Educators working in other provinces
- Early Childhood assistants working in childcare centres
- Early Childhood Educators working in home childcare centres
- Post-secondary students attending a program focusing on early childhood or child and youth studies.
- Post-grad students with a focus on the early years.
- Staff working in extended-day programming (before and after school)
- Early years staff working for a municipality or District Services Area Administration Board
- Professionals working in CAP-C or Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Programs
- Professionals working in Indigenous-run early learning programs, supporting children 0-6.
- Educators working in EarlyON or Head Start programs
- Professionals working for the Ministry of Education, regulatory colleges (CECE & OCT), and the Federal ELCC secretariat who support the early years sector.
- Professionals working in childcare advocacy associations
- Ontario College of Teachers working in the Full-Day Kindergarten Program or Grade 1
- District School Board Early Years Leads
- District School Board Indigenous Leads
- Educational Assistants working with children 0-6
- Childcare Site Supervisors
- Early Years Resource Consultants & OCT resource teachers supporting FDK and grade one
- Early Years Pedagogical specialists
- Paraprofessionals working within the early years sector (speech therapist, developmental services, occupational therapy, etc)
- Post-secondary instructors, professors, and support staff whose primary focus is within the early years.
- Professionals working in early childhood intervention and family support programs
- Professionals working in early literacy programs
This list is ever-evolving. If you feel we have missed a key role, please email elccevents@metisnation.org, and we will work to update this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
This event is in-person only and is not offered in a virtual format.
No, day-of registrations will not be accepted at this event. Due to limited space, unregistered attendees will not be permitted to attend the conference.
Due to limited spacing capacity, participants cannot change sessions once registered. Attendance will be taken during breakout sessions.
Although we cherish children’s presence, some conference content may not be suitable for them. The 2027 ELCC Conference will be an adult-only event. Please make childcare arrangements to ensure you can fully engage and enjoy the event.
Accommodations will be made so the event is accessible. When registering, please let us know if you require accessibility accommodations so we can ensure they are set up and ready for you upon arrival at the conference.
Yes. When registering, please let us know if you have dietary restrictions.
No. If you are not staying at the venue, you must arrange your own travel to and from White Oaks Resort and Spa. Parking at White Oaks is free.
Please email elccevents@metisnation.org with any questions about the ELCC Conference.