Early learning and child care deal extended

The governments of Canada and British Columbia have reached an agreement to extend the Early Learning and Child Care agreement for another four years.

Through the agreement, the federal government will provide $272 million to the province to improve access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services.

Under the deal, the province will make child care more affordable to British Columbians, giving priority to facilities that offer infant and toddler care, while enhancing equity in child care through targeted investments to support Indigenous families and families with support needs.

“Child care is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. High-quality early learning experiences are essential to the intellectual, emotional and physical development of our children,” said minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen.

“Our government will continue to fight for families and children in British Columbia to ensure they have access to high quality, affordable, accessible and inclusive child care, because every child deserves the best possible start in life.”

The federal government is also making a one-time $48.8-million investment to support early childhood educator recruitment and retention in the province.

This one-time funding will help improve access to early childhood educator training programs, provide bursaries to hundreds of students and provide incentives to early learning professionals to join the sector and upgrade their skills.

“Early childhood educators are the heart of our child care system and we can’t improve access to affordable, quality and inclusive child care for B.C. families without them,” said British Columbia’s minister of State for Childcare, Katrina Chen.

“This additional investment from the Government of Canada will build on the progress we’ve already made through our Childcare BC plan to create an inclusive universal child care system with a well-supported early learning and child care workforce.”

Through previous federal investments in early learning and child care, over 2,800 licensed child care spaces were created across B.C. prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.