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Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press Published Sunday, May 11, 2014 1:23PM EDT Last Updated Sunday, May 11, 2014 3:12PM EDT

HAMILTON, Ont. -- A New Democrat government would inject a one-time $100 million into licensed child care in Ontario if elected, party leader Andrea Horwath said Sunday.

The money, to be spent next year, would go toward "stabilizing" a system destabilized by the Liberal government, Horwath said.

"We see over a dozen child-care centres minimum across the province that are poised to close," Horwath said.

"That is not good enough. We can't have families in those communities having their child-care centres close and not having options for their children."

The Mother's Day announcement came at a water-front park, where the NDP leader chatted briefly with parents and kids enjoyed the sunshine.

Licensed child care in Ontario is the responsibility of municipalities, so it would be up to them to spend the money properly. Ontario has about 5,000 licensed child-care centres.

Horwath said an NDP government would not mess with the system as it is.

"We're not going to totally revamp the entire system and do direct funding -- that doesn't make any sense," she said.

Currently, the province gives local governments about $970 million a year to spend on day care.

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Ontario election: NDP promises one-time, $100M cash injection for child care