The future is looking bright! In April 2021, the Government of Canada announced a historic $30 billion investment over five years to build a high-quality, affordable and accessible early learning and child care (ELCC) system across Canada. With the Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-30) now passed, the federal government has turned its attention to negotiating bilateral agreements that will support the unique needs of each province and territory.

At this time, the government has reached five-year agreements with British Columbia, Manitoba, the Yukon, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. While there are unique elements to each of the agreements, each expands early childhood education opportunities for young children in their respective regions. Specifically, the agreements reduce the costs of child care fees by 50 per cent by 2022 and ensure that nationwide fees are an average of $10 per day for each child by 2026. They also provide at least 59{f4dab0c5032d4eb8d4f7ec2b6ecedf5f16cf8076f5e4fcfc5a07df85a146a352} coverage for kids 0-5 years, include additional workforce supports, and call for the creation of an implementation oversight body.

The majority of Atlantic Canada now has agreements with the federal government, however New Brunswick is still in negotiations. In the meantime, we’ve provided a round-up of key facts and interesting news updates from the east coast below.

Provincial Update

Newfoundland and Labrador

On July 28, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Andrew Furey announced a $347 million agreement to improve access, affordability and the quality of early learning and child care programming in the province.

The agreement focused primarily on new investments for infant, toddler, and preschool spaces and a new full day, year-round Pre-Kindergarten program for four-year-old children. The new program will ensure that every child has access to Pre-Kindergarten by 2025-26 no matter where they live.
In addition to these investments, the new agreement included:

  • A further reduction in the costs of regulated child care to $15 per day on January 1, 2022 and $10 per day in 2023;
  • The creation of 5,895 new regulated early learning and child care spaces within five years for children under the age of six;
  • A one-time investment of nearly $6.5 million to support the province’s early childhood workforce;
  • The implementation of an Advisory Committee to advise the Minister of Education on ELCC;
  • An increase in the percentage of fully certified early childhood educators in the sector by 15 per cent by 2023 and at least 60 per cent by the end of 2025; and
  • An increase in bursary funding for early childhood educators through three provincial programs.

To support implementation, the province announced a series of public consultations. Anyone interested in participating can visit engageNL to provide feedback. Following this first phase of consultations, the Minister of Education will also consult with sector groups in the fall. If you are interested in learning more about Newfoundland and Labrador’s new agreement, click here.

Nova Scotia

Premier Iain Rankin joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 13 to introduce a new $605 million agreement that will improve access to early learning and child care for Nova Scotia families. In addition to creating a new three-year-old early learning program with priority access for vulnerable and equity-seeking families, the five-year agreement will also:

  • Reduce ELCC fees by 50 per cent by December 31, 2022 and to an average of $10 per day by 2026 for children under six years of age;
  • Create 4,000 new regulated ELCC spaces for children under six within two years and 9,500 spaces by 2025-26;
  • Build a stronger and more skilled workforce of ECEs by creating a wage grid and greater opportunities for professional development;
  • Develop a plan that ensures diverse and vulnerable children and families have spaces equivalent to their share of Nova Scotia’s population;
  • Create a new three-year-old early learning program with priority access given to vulnerable and equity-seeking families; and
  • Create a system that is more inclusive of children with disabilities and those needing enhance or individual supports.

Importantly, Nova Scotia’s agreement will leverage public infrastructure and increase public oversight, both of which are critical components of building a strong and safe early learning system. You can learn more about the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement by clicking here.

Prince Edward Island

It was a busy month for Atlantic Canada as Premier Dennis King also joined the Prime Minister on July 27 to announce a new agreement that will see $121.3 million flow to the province over the next five years. Unique to PEI’s agreement is the fact that it seeks to accomplish in two years what many provinces are doing in five.

The province has already committed to a universal Pre-Kindergarten program in 2021. PEI’s new agreement with the federal government will significantly reduce the price of early learning and child care for Island families.

In addition, the province has committed to:

  • Building a strong workforce of early childhood educators through recruitment, retention, and the support of professional development, as well as the development of innovative, flexible-hours child care for those working shifts or non-standard hours;
  • Supporting an average fee of $10 a day in the province in three years which PEI is on track to meet by the end of 2024;
  • Creating an estimated 452 new regulated ELCC spaces will also be created in two years for children under six;
  • Providing a one-time investment of about $3.6 million in 2021-2022 to support early childhood educators; and
  • Supporting an early learning and child care system that is fully inclusive of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports.

As with the other provinces, both governments will create a formal implementation committee that will monitor progress and consult with local stakeholders. To read more about PEI’s new Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, click here.