Comprehensive minimum licencing standards for child day nurseries were obtained from four Canadian provinces and five U.S. states for the purpose of comparison with current Ontario health and sanitation requirements pertaining to day nurseries. Over 30 provisions dealing with sanitation, infection prevention, and child health and safety were examined. Our review has highlighted deficiencies in Canadian provincial legislation compared with state minimum licencing standards; we provide recommendations for the updating of Ontario provincial day nursery legislation to correct perceived regulatory weaknesses.