August 8, 2024 Vancouver, British Columbia Employment and Social Development Canada
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.
