Canada-wide early learning action plan to spend more than $440 million in child care in province
Regulated child care in Nova Scotia will cost parents $10 per day on average by March 2026 thanks to a new three-year action plan between the provincial and federal governments.
The Canada–Nova Scotia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (EELC) 2023–2024 to 2025–2026 will invest more than $440 million to make child care more accessible to working parents.
"Our government remains committed to ensuring that every child in Nova Scotia has access to affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care,” Jenna Sudds, Canada’s minister of families, children and social development.
“Our partnership with the government of Nova Scotia is working. Together we have reduced fees for families and created more spaces. The plan announced today will ensure we reach our targets of reducing fees to $10-a-day and creating 9,500 spaces by 2026."
A previous study found that 30% of employees born in the late 1990s and early 2000s consider childcare benefits as the most important factor in considering whether to stay in their current role.
Nova Scotia's Canada-wide ELCC Action Plan
The $440-million investment under Nova Scotia's Canada-wide ELCC Action Plan will be spent as follows:
- Affordability. More than $285 million towards the goal of achieving regulated child care fees of $10-a-day average by March 31, 2026. As of December 2022, Nova Scotia has already reduced child care fees by an average of 50%, saving families up to $6,000 per year, per child. When combined with the Child Care Subsidy Program, this resulted in more than 3,000 families having access to free child care.
- Access. $52 million towards will be spent for the creation of 9,500 new regulated child care spaces by March 2026. In Nova Scotia, 3,861 new spaces have already been created as of Dec. 31, 2023.
- Quality. More than $105 million will go toward an early childhood educator (ECE) compensation framework – including ongoing support for the ECE wage grid introduced in November 2022 – and implementing retirement and health benefits for all ECEs and ELCC workers in the regulated sector.
- Inclusion. More than $30 million will be spent to implement an inclusive early learning and child care strategy that focuses on respect for diversity and strives for equity, inclusion and accessibility across the child care system; as well as continuing to support inclusion measures for diverse and vulnerable communities, including children with additional needs.
- Administration. $23 million will be spent to support the implementation and administration of the Canada–Nova Scotia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, including building targeted capacity and additional resources within the Nova Scotia government to support the implementation of initiatives, and enhanced data collection and reporting.
"Families across our province need and deserve a child care system that provides our youngest Nova Scotians the best start in life through care that is accessible, affordable, inclusive and high-quality. The work we are doing across the child care sector in Nova Scotia is transformative for both families and those who work to provide this much needed care,” said Becky Druhan, minister of education and early childhood development for Nova Scotia.
“With help from our partners in the federal government, we are continuing to build a sustainable system able to meet the needs of our growing province."
In April, early childhood educators working in provincially licensed and funded child-care centres and family home agencies in Nova Scotia will get an hourly wage increase from about $3.14 to $4.24.
In October 2023, Nova Scotia announced it is partnering with Health Park Early Learning Centre, to provide evening, weekend and overnight child-care options to healthcare workers.
