#PlanForCamp

Banner - Thank you to our camp community who wrote more than 3,000 letters telling Doug Ford why Ontario needs camp.

The Ontario Camps Association supports and accredits more than 400 day and overnight camps. Due to COVID-19, overnight camps weren’t able to operate in 2020 and many day camps were not able to move forward with a short season once the go-ahead was given. As we headed into 2021, camps had no clear path forward. Would camp open in summer 2021? What would camp look like during COVID-19?

In order to find these answers, we:

  • Established a COVID-19 Task Force who worked hard to lobby the government for support and work together with the Ministry of Health and local Public Health offices to plan for a safe and responsible return to OCA camps
  • Launched #planforcamp, an OCA social media campaign created to show why camps, families, and youth need camps
  • Held a virtual campfire event on April 12, 2021 to light the path back to camp, with messages from the Ministry of Health, SickKids, and camp leaders across Ontario.
  • Launched a letter writing campaign which resulted in more than 3,000 letters being sent to MPPs across Ontario from campers and families sharing why camp is important to them, and a vital service for Ontario families.

The OCA worked collaboratively with the Ontario Premier’s Office, Ontario Health and the office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) to #planforcamp, which included the reversal of the May 2020 closure order on overnight camps. Under the Roadmap to Reopen, in Step Two ( as of June 30, 2021) both day and overnight camps are permitted to operate under the guidance of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

For many reasons, some day and overnight camps were not able to reopen in the summer of 2021 – we are continuing our work to support these camps so they are able to reopen in 2022.

Looking for a camp for summer 2021? View our COVID-19 FAQ’s for Parents here!