NationTalk: Employment and Social Development Canada – Affordable child care is not a luxury—it is a necessity. That is why the Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to implement a Canada-wide early learning and child care (ELCC) system that will bring fees for regulated child care across the country down to $10-a-day on average by March 2026.

Today, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Hogan, New Brunswick’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, announced a three-year action plan to improve and expand early learning and child care services across the province. The Action Plan covers commitments made under the Canada–New Brunswick Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, the Canada-New Brunswick ELCC Agreement, and the Canada-New Brunswick ELCC Infrastructure Fund Amendment. The plan sets a road map for strengthening and expanding the child care sector in the province and improving access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive child care for families.

Over the course of the three-year plan, New Brunswick’s Action Plan 2023–2024 to 2025–2026 outlines spending of more than $426 million in five areas:

Affordability

• More than $295 million towards the goal of achieving regulated child care fees of $10-a-day average by March 31, 2026. The Government of New Brunswick has already reduced child care fees by an average of 50% as of December 2022 saving families an average of $3,600 per year, per child.

Access

• More than $20 million towards the creation of 3,400 new regulated child care spots by March 2026. In New Brunswick, measures to support the creation of 3,400 new spots have been announced, including in francophone and rural communities.

Quality

• More than $128.5 million toward ongoing support for the early childhood educator (ECE) wage grid introduced in November 2022, and offering training to support educators obtaining their Level 1 – ECE Certificate.

Inclusion

• More than $30 million to develop and implement a comprehensive inclusion framework for both anglophone and francophone sectors; as well as continuing to support inclusion measures for diverse and vulnerable communities, including children with additional needs.
• Approximately $12.4 million through the Government of Canada’s Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund to increase the physical accessibility of ELCC spaces and support greater inclusion for underserved communities including: families in rural and remote communities, minority language communities, newcomer families, low-income families, extended hour service providers and Indigenous communities.
• With more than $2.7 million, the Government of Canada and New Brunswick are collaborating with Indigenous communities and organizations to identify areas of focus and establish a plan for ELCC services for Indigenous children that is supported by an Indigenous-led, strength-based coordination process.

Reporting and Administration

• Over $16 million to support the implementation and administration of the Canada–New Brunswick Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, including building targeted capacity and additional resources within the Government of New Brunswick to support the implementation of initiatives, and enhanced data collection and reporting.

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 and give kids the best possible start in life, while supporting a strong workforce and growing the economy.

Quotes

“We are at the halfway mark of our plan to make $10-a-day child care a reality for families in New Brunswick. While we have made significant progress, more work needs to be done. With this Action Plan, we have a clear path forward on how we will work together to create new child care spots to reduce waitlists, cut costs for families, and support the workforce.”

– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“Through investments like this, we’re ensuring that Canadians, and particularly Canadian women, in New Brunswick and across the country don’t have to choose between having a career and having kids, and can be confident that their children are benefitting from high-quality early learning and child care services.”

–  The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

“We are grateful for our partnership with the federal government as we continue building a quality early learning and child care sector in New Brunswick. This action plan will support New Brunswick families and their young children as we work to bring affordable, inclusive, high-quality child care to all areas of the province. I am proud to witness the remarkable strides made over the past few years to improve New Brunswick’s early learning and child care system. That being said, we know there is still work to be done and we are committed to continuing to improve learning environments for all our youngest learners.”

– The Honourable Bill Hogan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development for New Brunswick

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 and territories. Combined with other investments, including in Indigenous early learning and child care, up to $30 billion over five years will be provided in support of early learning and child care.
• As part of the agreement with New Brunswick, the Government of Canada is contributing close to $492 million over five years to help improve regulated early learning and child care for children under the age of 6 in the province. This is in addition to more than $48.1 million announced through the Canada–New Brunswick ELCC Extension Agreement – 2021 to 2025, which includes close to $9.3 million through a one-time investment in 2021-2022 to support the early childhood workforce.
• On May 15, 2024, the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick announced the allocation of $17.6 million over four years, with approximately $12.4 million through 2025-2026 in federal funding to the province under the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.
• Eight provinces and territories are delivering regulated early learning and child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, and the remaining jurisdictions have reduced fees by 50% or more compared to 2019 levels. The goal is that all families in Canada will have access to regulated early learning and child care for an average cost of $10-a-dy by March 2026.
• As part of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system, the Government of Canada aims to create approximately 250,000 new child care spaces across the country by March 2026 to give all families affordable child care options, no matter where they live.

Associated links

• Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning and Child Care
• Canada – New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026

Contacts
For media enquiries, please contact:

Geneviève Lemaire
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
genevieve.lemaire@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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