Based on the premise that Canada needs to collect, collate, analyze, and disseminate reliable data on early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs that are comparable across provinces/territories and that good data are fundamental for informing policy, research, and service delivery, the National Data Project was funded in 2000-2001 to produce a strategy for the development of reliable, comparable ECEC data in Canada. Following an executive summary, the report is presented in five sections. Section 1 describes current ECEC practices, and federal/provincial initiatives and offers a thumbnail sketch of the state of Canada's ECEC data. Section 2 analyzes the purposes and requirements for which ECEC data should be collected, organized, analyzed, and used. This part also discusses the value of indicators and the use of data to support a program of research. Section 3 outlines and describes current and past data collection in Canada and presents some international data approaches to ECEC data that may be useful in Canada. Section 4 outlines what types of provincial/territorial administrative, program, and monitoring data on ECEC services are currently collected, and examines the strengths and weakness of these data for answering various questions and for producing indicators of progress. Section 5 focuses on conclusions and presents six recommendations: (1) develop new data collection vehicles; (2) improve utilization and design of existing data collection vehicles; (3) improve provincial/territorial administrative data; (4) develop a Canadian policy and program database; (5) establish a program of ECEC research; and (6) coordinate data collection and organization. The report's nine appendices include the survey instruments; tabulated data on child care technology, enrollment, service duration, family child care, and funding; and information on locating data sources. (Contains 51 references.) (KB)