Building more child care spaces for families in Manitoba

WINNIPEG, MB, Aug. 7, 2024 /CNW/ – Families across Canada rely on access to high-quality, affordable, and inclusive child care. That is why the federal government and Manitoba are working together to create more early learning and child-care spaces to meet the needs of children and families no matter where they live.

Today, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, and the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning for Manitoba, Nello Altomare, announced the creation of over 950 new affordable child-care spaces in Manitoba. These include over 200 spaces created at three newly-opened Ready-to-Move (RTM) facilities in Lorette, St. Adolphe and Stoney Mountain, over 300 expansion spaces opened through new start-up and operating grants, and a commitment to create another 400 expansion spaces in existing child-care facilities through the new Child Care Renovation Expansion Grant.

The governments of Canada and Manitoba previously distributed over $3.4 million to child-care centres through the Child Care Renovation Expansion Grant to create new spaces through facility expansion. Going forward, the grant will award more than $14.5 million to 14 facilities to create an additional 400 spaces for children under seven.

Canada’s national child care program is saving families in Manitoba thousands of dollars each year, and the federal and provincial governments are making transformative investments to build a system that provides the spaces families need. The progress towards creating 23,000 new child-care spaces across the province continues, with nearly 3,300 spaces opened and 5,900 committed spaces for a total of over 9,200 new spaces for children ages 0 to 6.

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.

Quotes

“We need to meet parents and kids where they are. These new Ready-to-Move centres will make a significant difference for families, especially those living in rural and Indigenous communities, providing them with the flexibility and support they need while ensuring every child has the best possible start in life.”
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“Parents know that finding child care spaces can be tough, and this is especially true in rural communities. With this important investment, we’re making sure that more parents across Manitoba have access to the child care services they need.”
– The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada

“Having access to quality child-care spaces strengthens our communities and economy, and more importantly, allows parents to breathe easy knowing their children are receiving quality child care. I’m pleased to celebrate the opening of these new facilities and programming that moves Manitoba towards making child-care spaces readily available for Manitoba families.”
– The Honourable Nello Altomare, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning for Manitoba

Quick Facts

The Rural Municipalities and Indigenous Governing Bodies Ready-to-Move Child Care Initiative is an innovative partnership between the governments of Canada and Manitoba that rapidly constructs high-quality child-care centres. The project will create a total of 1,970 new child-care spaces in 25 rural and First Nations communities between 2022 and 2026. Ten RTMs in rural Manitoba are nearing completion and are anticipated to open in Fall 2024.Both the Child Care Renovation Expansion Grant and the Rural Municipalities and Indigenous Governing Bodies Ready-to-Move Child Care Initiative are funded under the Canada–Manitoba Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, with both governments investing $134.5 million toward creating new spaces.Under the Canada–Manitoba Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, Manitoba has committed to the development of 23,000 new full time child care spaces by 2026.As part of the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 Canada–Manitoba Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, the Government of Canada is investing more than $1.2 billion over five years to help improve early learning and child care for children in the province.As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made a transformative investment of up to $30 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Combined with investments since 2016, including investments in Indigenous early learning and child care, the federal government has announced investments of nearly $40 billion in early learning and child care.As part of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system, the Government of Canada aims to create approximately 250,000 new child care spaces across the country by March 2026 to give families affordable child care options, no matter where they live.Across the country, over 750,000 kids are already benefiting from affordable, high-quality child care. Over 100,000 new affordable spaces have been announced across the country as part of the Canada-wide early learning and child-care system. The goal of creating 250,000 new spaces by March 2026 is well within reach.To give every child the best start in life, the federal government is also:Giving families more money through the Canada Child Benefit to help with the costs of raising their children and to make a real difference in the lives of children in Canada. The Canada Child Benefit, which provides up to $7,437 per child per year, is indexed annually to keep up with the cost of living and has helped lift half a million children out of poverty since its launch in 2016.Improving access to dental health care for children under the age of 18 through the Canadian Dental Care Plan—because no one should have to choose between taking care of their child’s teeth and putting food on the table.Creating a National School Food Program to ensure that children have the best start in life, with the food they need to learn and grow, no matter their circumstances.Supporting after-school learning with an investment of $67.5 million to help all Canadian students reach their full potential. After-school learning and supports play an important role in helping students succeed in their academic pursuits, especially for at-risk students.

Associated Links

Toward $10 a Day: Early Learning and Child Care
Canada‒Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026 – Canada.ca
Manitoba.ca/childcare
Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care: Space Creation

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada