OTTAWA, ON, March 6, 2025 /CNW/ - Every child deserves the best start in life. But for young families, the costs of child care can add up to a second rent or mortgage payment. As a result, parents – especially moms – often face impossible choices between their careers and child care fees.
As a government, we introduced the first-of-its-kind, universal $10-a-day child care program, so that families can save thousands of dollars every year and access affordable child care. Because of our Early Learning and Child Care program, 900,000 children across Canada are getting affordable, high-quality child care, and families are saving up to $16,200 per child, per year.
We've made significant progress, but there is always more to do.
Today, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, alongside the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds, announced that the federal government has reached early learning and child care extension agreements with 11 out of 13 provinces and territories, ensuring families get all the supports they need so they can join the workforce or continue their career while raising their kids.
With these extensions, provinces and territories will receive $36.8 billion to move forward on progress to create new child care spaces, reduce waitlists, and hire more early childhood educators across the country. Affordable child care is good for kids and parents, and it's good for the economy as well. With this increased and continued investment in early learning and child care, more parents – especially women – can enter the workforce and advance their careers. That means more good-paying jobs, more opportunities for early childhood educators, more economic growth across our communities, and a stronger, fairer Canada for everyone. It is estimated that for every dollar invested in child care, the economy gets $2.80 in return – a testament to the fact that affordable child care is good for families, and good for our country.
Along with extending these agreements, we are also increasing the funding that they provide by 3 per cent per year for four years, starting in 2027-28, to help make sure that federal funding keeps up with the cost of child care operations.
This means more families can continue to access child care, find savings, and get ahead. This investment will also help us reach the goal of creating 250,000 child care spaces across the country by March 2026.
This funding will support 35,000 affordable spaces across nearly 1,000 Indigenous early learning and child care sites, including more than 10 new centres in Métis communities, with additional centres planned in the next two years. It will also help improve child care access for military families on bases across Canada, so our Canadian Armed Forces members get quality care throughout their moves and deployments.
Confident countries invest in themselves and in their future. By extending child care agreements and expanding our investments, we are making life better and easier for Canadians. Alongside investing in affordable child care, we are also building more homes, creating more jobs, and standing up for Canadian interests.
Quotes
"Affordable child care is good for kids and parents, and it's good for the economy as well. Today's announcement will make sure more families get access to affordable, high-quality child care with lower costs and more savings, and help kids get the best start in life. Confident countries invest in themselves and in their future."
— The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
"We didn't come this far just to come this far. We must keep building on our progress and make $10-a-day child care a reality for every parent who wants a spot for their kid. That's what these extension agreements are all about. Affordable child care gives parents, especially moms, options. Options to go back to work, build their careers, and save money, while ensuring their kids get the best possible start in life."
— The Hon. Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts
- The extensions announced today include the final year (2026-27) of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, which supports infrastructure projects in underserved communities to help increase inclusion in the Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
- To sustain the progress made from the existing early learning and child care agreements, including infrastructure funding, support for early childhood educators, and access to affordable child care, the federal government is investing an additional $36.8 billion over five years, starting in 2026-27. This includes a 3 per cent funding increase every year for four years, starting in 2027‑28. With today's announcement, the Government of Canada is providing:
- $16.77 billion to Ontario
- $9.83 billion to Quebec
- $5.38 billion to British Columbia
- $1.9 billion to Manitoba
- $1.05 billion to Nova Scotia
- $876 million to New Brunswick
- $503 million to Newfoundland and Labrador
- $199 million to Prince Edward Island
- $109 million to Nunavut
- $80 million to the Northwest Territories
- $74 million to the Yukon
- This funding will help ensure continued access to $10-a-day on average child care beyond the current agreements, which were set to expire on March 31, 2026.
- The Government of Canada is committed to ongoing collaboration with Indigenous partners and official language minority communities, and expects provincial and territorial governments to do the same while developing action plans in support of these extensions.
- Eight provinces and territories are currently delivering regulated early learning and child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, while the remaining jurisdictions have reduced fees by 50 per cent or more compared to 2019 levels.
- As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made a transformative investment of more than $27 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provinces and territories. Combined with other investments, including in Indigenous early learning and child care, up to $30 billion over five years (2021-22 to 2025-26) is provided in support of early learning and child care.
- Investments will help create more spaces in rural and remote regions, high-cost and low-income urban neighbourhoods, and communities facing barriers to access. This includes supporting racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples, official language minority communities, newcomers, and families with parents, caregivers, or children with disabilities.
- These investments build on the significant progress we have already made to help kids reach their full potential and level the playing field for parents, including by:
- Giving families more money through the Canada Child Benefit, to help with the costs of raising their kids and make a real difference in the lives of children in Canada. The Canada Child Benefit, which can provide up to $7,437 per child per year, is indexed annually to keep up with the cost of living.
- Improving access to dental health care for children under 18 through the Canadian Dental Care Plan, because no one should have to choose between taking care of their kids' teeth and putting food on the table.
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Associated Links
- Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning and Child Care
- Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act
- Early Learning and Child Care Agreements
- Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework
- Budget 2021: A Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office
PMO Media Relations: [email protected]
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