The Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement

AFFORDABILITY

• Average of 50% reduction of parent fees for children enroled in a designated facility by June 1, 2022
• Additional reduction of parent fees for children enroled in a designated facility to an average of $10 a day by 2026

INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

• Ensure children and families, including children with additional needs, receive adequate support
• Celebrate diversity by ensuring access to all children including those from First Nations communities, racialized children, children of new Canadians and children of official linguistic minority communities

The Government of Canada has committed to investing $30 billion over five years to build a national early learning and child care system. This commitment addresses both economic and social issues as child care is an essential part of the social infrastructure needed to support economic growth. This investment will:

• Create meaningful jobs, for which the majority will be women entering (or re-entering) the labour force;
• Enable families to improve their standard of living by removing the cost of child care as a significant barrier to participating in the workforce; and
• Create a generation of engaged, supported and well-prepared young learners.

During the last four years, New Brunswick has transformed the early learning and child care sector. The province developed a comprehensive public policy framework that improved access, affordability and quality by creating a new service delivery model in the designation program.

The federal and provincial governments are committed to collaborate, develop and support community-based early learning and child care spaces and to ensure that all families, regardless of location, have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive options. This dual mission is to enhance the early education of children and support the dedicated workforce of early childhood educators who are committed to their long-term success.

Through the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, New Brunswick will receive $491 million in federal funding and invest an additional $53 million over the next five years. We are committed to ensuring this investment reflects the diverse needs of New Brunswick families and to support high-quality facilities.

• Build and support affordable, inclusive high-quality early learning and child care spaces
• Ensure families have access to high-quality early learning and child care services they can rely on
• Ensure children receive high quality early childhood education to reach their fullest potential

Initiatives outlined in the 2021-2023 Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Action Plan (PDF) include increasing affordability, improving access to early learning and child care spaces, supporting inclusion, strengthening the workforce and investments in data and reporting.  

A key component of this Action plan is to engage New Brunswickers in a dialogue to help guide and strengthen our collective actions towards the transformation of early learning and child care services in New Brunswick to better meet the needs of children and their families. With our partners and stakeholders, we are building the innovative, supportive and sustainable early education system New Brunswick’s families deserve.