The Water Babies Origin Story
22 years ago, Paul Thompson left his career and found himself as a stay-at-home dad. He embraced his role, dedicating his days to his daughter. One day, after attending a baby swim class, everything clicked – his love for water and fatherhood came together. In 2002, around a kitchen table in the north of the UK, Water Babies was born.
Meet Sarah & Shawn – Owners of Water Babies Canada
Shawn, a commercial lawyer, grew disillusioned with life in law and decided to open a business. He and Ned, a partner at his former firm had been exploring franchise options when they discovered Water Babies. Shawn completed his Canadian swim teaching qualifications and then flew to the UK see how Water Babies did things. He quickly fell in love with the program and the business. Shawn and Ned signed on to bring Water Babies to Canada, started growing – and never looked back.
Sarah, a chartered accountant, joined Water Babies as a parent during her maternity leave. She signed up her 8-week-old son, Jacob, and she loved it so much she became a teacher – with the intention of keeping just a few hours once she returned to accounting. Seeing the business potential and being inspired by the program, Sarah bought her own franchise in South Yorkshire, and two years later a second while welcoming her second son Joshua to the world. After eight years, she sold both franchises and joined the Water Babies International Tutor Office team delivering training globally – from China to New Zealand to Canada.
First Water Babies Lessons in Canada
In April 2015, Water Babies Canada launched its very first lessons at Kensington Community School, in Downtown Toronto – where we still teach today! After a bit of early success, founder Paul Thompson and the UK team flew in to run a promotional shoot – complete with a giant inflatable baby that we will never forget!
First Full Time Employee
Alexandra – now franchisee for Vaughan and Simcoe – holds a special place in Water Babies Canada’s story as our very first full-time employee.
She first met Shawn while working at the Schwartz Reisman Center. When he asked her for recommendations for his first employee, she decided to put herself forward instead! Her Water Babies journey began in a tiny basement office where she learned the ins and outs of the business and quickly fell in love with what we were building. The business then moved across the hall into a bigger unit – and a bigger office – as the business grew. Alexandra reflects “it was special to witness the growth – not just the space we worked in, but in our team and the number of families we were reaching with more class offerings.”
Shawn remembers her as “an incredibly motivated, detail-oriented, caring person, who’s always willing to go above and beyond.” He reminisces “I was lucky to have met Alexandra when I did, we couldn’t have accomplished what we did those next two years without her!”. About a year after she began, Alexandra became a Water Babies teacher and started lessons with her own little swimmers.
Growing the Team and the Brand
In 2018, Shawn successfully bought Ned out of the business and partnered with our International Head Office to start franchising Water Babies in Canada.
That same year Alexandra became our first-ever franchisee-purchasing the Vaughan territory with one goal: to bring the Water Babies program to local families. Over the following years, Alexandra dedicated herself to growing her business, supporting her team and building strong relationships with swimmers and their families.
Following Alexandra’s acquisition of the Vaughan territory, expansion continued across the Greater Toronto Area – including Markham and Scarborough.
In order to train up our new teams in all these new areas, Sarah was assigned to run a teachers’ course in Canada. She came out to Canada in the middle of February (perfect timing!) for the first time, navigating a winter wonderland with 3 feet of snow. It was during this course that Sarah became a part of the Water Babies Canada Family, running more courses over time, and eventually moving into an Operations Manager role, where she trained and supported staff, guided franchisees, and helped grow the business from the inside.
In 2020, Felicia became the franchisee for North York – but her Water Babies journey began long before that. She first discovered the program through a TV ad in the UK, showing babies swimming underwater. That day she said to herself “I want to do that with my kids”. Years later, she joined lessons in Canada with her daughter Hannah – and Shawn happened to be her teacher. She fell in love with the program and soon after, took the leap into franchising.
In 2023, Carol joined the Water Babies family – purchasing the Mississauga territory from Head Office. Another member of the WB family that started as a corporate lawyer, she immigrated to Canada from Peru to pursue a business degree. While studying, she began working as a Water Babies teacher in Toronto and later supported the office team. Her passion for the program and her experience ultimately inspired her to become a franchisee herself.
That same year, Water Babies Canada launched in Halifax – our first franchise outside Ontario. It all started with Audrey, a mom who discovered the program while living in Toronto. She fell in love with the program, and knew she wanted to bring it back to her hometown. With her support as a teacher and trusted local guide, Head Office began running lessons. The Halifax community has been growing ever since.
After years of successful operations and helping grow the business across the country – the business was in a strong position to end its partnership with our international head office. This opened the door to an exciting new chapter in our journey – rewarding and recognizing Sarah’s leadership and contributions, with her taking on the Chief Operations Officer role at Water Babies Canada and officially becoming an equity shareholder.
Following Sarah’s milestone, Brittany became the next to launch her Water Babies franchise. Having experienced the program firsthand with her son and as a teacher in Toronto, she was passionate about bringing the lessons to families in her hometown of Kingston. This marked the beginning of the Ontario East franchise – now serving both Kingston and Peterborough, with plans to expand further.
Later that year, Water Babies Canada set its sights beyond Ontario once again. Expansion efforts in Calgary kicked off after connecting with a franchise prospect who truly embodied the Water Babies spirit. Although that partnership didn’t work out, interest in the Calgary market remained strong. This led Shawn and Sarah on an adventure to Calgary, including high winds, low temperatures, mountains (and a decided lack of bear sightings!), and by early 2025, lessons officially launched there. Since then, we’ve built and grown a dedicated team, bringing Water Babies to even more families in the area.
Earlier this year (2025), Alexandra took the next step in her Water Babies journey by expanding into the Simcoe Region. With hopes of building a new community and replicate the success of her Vaughan franchise.
10 Year of Water Babies – Where We Are Now
Ten years in, what a journey it’s been. We now have 5 businesses in 10 franchise territories across 3 provinces, and over 2 100 swimmers joining us in the pool each week. We’ve been honoured twice with the Toronto Star Reader’s Choice Award for Best Swimming Instruction—a reflection of the trust and love from our families.
Being a Water Babies franchisee requires joining a team (or should we say, a family) – and then going out to build your own. Each of our franchisees has embraced the Water Babies culture while creating their own communities, leading passionate teams, and forming meaningful relationships with families.
Water Babies Canada wouldn’t exist without them. It’s their world – we’re just a part of it. They deserve every bit of the credit for what they’ve built.
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate 10 years, this isn’t the end of a chapter – it’s the beginning of a new one.
Our goal remains clear: to share the magic of this program with families across the country. In the next three years, we aim to be offering lessons in every major market across Canada!
The next 10 years are going to be just as exciting as the first, and we can’t wait to meet new families, teachers, and franchisees in new cities across Canada!
