A Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare System

Providing a supportive, safe, and enabling environment is essential for children to acquire essential learning and development skills. Research indicates that the absence of a high-quality, universal childcare system exacerbates income disparity, limits opportunities, and impacts women’s participation in the workforce.

To address this, In the spring of 2021, the Canadian government introduced a comprehensive, and historic childcare policy aimed at delivering affordable, accessible, inclusive, and high-quality childcare across the country.

Since April 2021, federal agreements have been negotiated with most provinces and territories to enhance access to $10-a-day childcare services, focusing primarily on non-profit providers.

The plan has already shown amazing results. A report indicates that childcare fees across Canada have been reduced by 50%, and tens of thousands of new childcare spaces have also been created. It has lowered the costs for parents, and this transformational policy has also created approximately 635,000 new childcare spots. Not only this, in many provinces, government funding has increased wages for early childhood educators.

Internationally, countries like the United States have commended this policy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Trudeau government is committed to working with provinces and territories to achieve the goal of $10-a-day childcare nationwide by 2026.