VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Now more than ever, increased access to high-quality, affordable, and inclusive child care is crucial to meet the needs of children and families across Canada. That is why the Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system so all families have access to affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care no matter where they live.

Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity and Member of Parliament for Delta, on behalf of the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, joined the Honourable Mitzi Dean, Minister of State for Child Care for British Columbia to announce the creation of almost 600 new licensed child care spots in British Columbia. The new spots will be located in: Esk'etemc First Nation, Homalco First Nation, G̱aw Tlagée, Kelowna, Langford, Metchosin, Peachland, Pemberton and West Vancouver.

Over $74.6 million was provided to First Nations, local governments, schools and non-profit groups to create these new child care spots. These new spots were made possible through:

• • the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, which is jointly supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement; and
  • the new $625 million Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, which is providing British Columbia with $69.9 million over four years, with $47.3 million for the first three years, to help build more inclusive child care spots across the province. In 2024—2025, these new spots in British Columbia will support communities in rural and remote regions, increase access to Indigenous-led child care and increase access to Francophone spots for official language minority communities.

Since 2018, ChildCareBC accelerated space creation programs have helped fund the creation of more than 39,000 new licensed child care spots in British Columbia. Of these, over 11,600 are jointly supported through provincial investments and federal investments provided through the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

Across the country, over 750,000 kids are already benefiting from affordable, high-quality child care, with some families in Canada saving up to $14,300 per child per year. Alongside provinces and territories, the Government of Canada has also announced over 100,000 new spots, well on the way to reaching the goal of creating 250,000 new spots by March 2026.

Building a Canada-wide early learning and child care system that works for families in every region of the country is a key part of the Government of Canada's plan to make life more affordable for families, while supporting a strong workforce and growing the economy.

Quotes

"These new spots will make a significant difference for families in British Columbia, providing them with the flexibility and support they need while ensuring children have the best possible start in life. We will keep working hard to create more spots to get kids off wait lists and into high-quality, affordable child care in their communities."
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"We've cut child care fees in half, but we also need more spaces. Working with our provincial partners, we're creating 30,000 new spaces across B.C., including in rural and Indigenous communities. Today's announcement is one step towards a brighter future for B.C. families."
– Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity and Member of Parliament for Delta

"Thanks to our government's ChildCareBC plan, hundreds more families will be able to access the child care they need, close to home. We know that having access to secure child care spaces supports families and strengthens communities. Through these investments, more families will be able to pursue opportunities and will provide children with great early learning opportunities."
– The Honourable Mitzi Dean, British Columbia's Minister of State for Child Care.

Quick facts

• As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made a transformative investment of up to $30 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provincial, territorial 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.
• 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 and 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.

Associated links

Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning and Child Care
Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026
ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada