EDMONTON, AB, May 16, 2024
/CNW/ - Every child deserves the best start in life. But for young
families, including Millennial and Gen Z parents, the costs of
child care can add up to a second rent or mortgage payment. This
makes it harder to start and support a family, and as a result,
parents—especially moms—often face impossible choices between their
careers and child care fees.
Fairness for every generation means ensuring parents, especially
moms, do not have to choose between a career and starting a family.
The Government is taking action to make life cost less for young
families and to build a Canada
where every generation can get ahead.
Already, all provinces and territories are offering or are on
track to offer $10-a-day regulated
child care. This progress, made possible by nearly $40 billion
in federal support since 2016, including the transformative
investment of nearly $30 billion in Budget 2021, is
making life more affordable for young families. Women's labour
force participation is now at a record high of 85.7%, meaning more
families are bringing home more income and contributing to
Canada's economic growth, while
saving thousands of dollars on child care every year.
But more families need access to affordable child care.
That's why, today in Edmonton,
the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment,
Workforce Development and Official Languages, on behalf of the
Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social
Development, announced $78.5 million over four years, with
approximately 52.9 million through 2025–2026, to help build
more inclusive child care spaces across Alberta through the Government of Canada's $625‑million Early Learning and Child
Care Infrastructure Fund. This investment will help Alberta reach the shared goal of building up
to 68,700 new child care spaces by 2026.
Through this Fund, all provinces and territories will be able to
make further investments in child care, so more families can save
up to $14,300 on child care every
year, per child.
These investments will aim to support families in rural and
remote communities, as well as families in communities that face
barriers to access, such as racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples,
newcomers, official language minority communities, and children,
parents and employees with disabilities. Funding may also be used
to support infrastructure to provide care during non-standard
hours.
Across the country, over 750,000 kids are already benefiting
from affordable, high-quality child care, with some families saving
up to $14,300 per child, per year.
Alongside provinces and territories, the Government of Canada has also announced over 100,000 new
spaces, well on the way to reaching the goal of creating 250,000
new spaces by March 2026.
Investing in affordable child care is about helping more
families save thousands of dollars on child care and ensuring that
every child has the best start in life. The measures highlighted
above complement what the Government of Canada is doing in Budget 2024 to build a
fairer Canada for every
generation. The Government is building more homes, strengthening
public health care, making life cost less, and growing the economy
in a way that is shared by all—to make sure every generation has a
fair chance at building a good middle-class life.
Quotes
"Young families who don't yet have access to affordable child
care spaces are paying as much as a second rent or mortgage payment
for unregulated child care. This is unfair to today's generation of
parents, especially Millennial and Gen Z parents, who need and
deserve the relief of $10-a-day child
care. We are working with provinces and territories to build more
spaces across the country, so that more families can access
affordable child care and save thousands of dollars every
year."
– The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance
"Every family should have access to high-quality, inclusive
child care. More child care spaces mean more high-quality spots for
kids, and more relief for parents as they access affordable child
care. The Government of Canada
remains committed to working with the Government of Alberta so children in Canada have the best possible start in life.
The Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund will help
child care providers across the province so they can continue to
provide access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive
early learning and child care to underserved communities."
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and
Social Development
"When we invest in childcare, we invest in the future of all
generations and we make our economy work for everyone. Our
Government is working step by step to provide 68,700 new childcare
spaces by 2026 through the Early Learning and Child Care
Infrastructure Fund. Opening up more affordable and accessible
spaces for childcare in our province and across the country means
putting money directly back in the pockets of families who need it
most."
– The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment,
Workforce Development and Official Languages of Canada
"High-quality, affordable, accessible and inclusive child care
is critical to Albertans. Additional funding through the Early
Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund will help support the
creation of new licensed child care spaces where Alberta families need them most. This means
even more parents can enter the workforce or pursue an education
while supporting the growth and development of children in every
corner of the province."
– The Honourable Matt Jones, Alberta's Minister of Jobs, Economy and
Trade
Quick facts
- 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, territories and Indigenous partners.
- Combined with investments since 2016, including investments in
Indigenous early learning and child care, the federal government
has announced investments of nearly $40
billion in early learning and child care.
- To date, eight provinces and territories are delivering
regulated child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, including Quebec and the Yukon, which achieved this prior to the
Canada-wide system. In all other
provinces and territories, fees for regulated child care have been
reduced by at least 50% on average. Provinces and territories are
working toward lowering fees for regulated child care to
$10-a-day on average by March 2026.
- Canada-wide early learning and
child care is saving families, per child, up to $6,000 in Nova
Scotia, $13,700 a year in
Alberta, $8,500 in Ontario, $6,900
in Saskatchewan, $6,600 in British
Columbia, $6,300 in
Newfoundland and Labrador, $4,170
in Prince Edward Island,
$3,600 in New Brunswick, $2,610 in Manitoba, $7,300
in the Yukon, $9,120 in the Northwest
Territories, and $14,300
in Nunavut.
- As part of the Canada-wide
early learning and child care system, the Government of
Canada is working with provinces
and territories to create 250,000 new child care spaces across the
country by March 2026 to increase
access to affordable child care options for families, no matter
where they live.
- To support this goal, the federal government previously
announced the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure
Fund. The Fund provides an additional $625 million to
provinces and territories to support infrastructure projects for
not-for-profit child care spaces in underserved communities, such
as rural and remote regions, high-cost and low-income urban
neighbourhoods, and communities that face barriers to access,
including racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples, official language
minority communities, newcomers, as well as parents, caregivers and
children with disabilities.
- To further accelerate progress, Budget 2024 announced a new
$1‑billion Child Care Expansion Loan Program, to help public and
not-for-profit child care providers to build more child care spaces
and renovate their existing child care centres.
- To give every child the best start in life, the federal
government is also:
- Giving families more money through the Canada Child Benefit to
help with the costs of raising their children and to make a real
difference in the lives of children in Canada. The Canada Child Benefit, which
provides up to $7,437 per child per
year, is indexed annually to keep up with the cost of living and
has helped lift half a million children out of poverty since its
launch in 2016.
- Improving access to dental health care for children under the
age of 12 through the Canada Dental Benefit, and soon for children
under 18 with 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.
- Creating a National School Food Program to ensure that every
child has the best start in life, with the food they need to learn
and grow, no matter their circumstances.
- Supporting after-school learning with an investment of
$67.5 million to help all Canadian
students reach their full potential. After-school learning and
supports play an important role in helping students succeed in
their academic pursuits, especially for at-risk students.
Associated links
Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning
and Child Care
Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care
Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework
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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada