National Progress Report on Early Learning and Child Care 2018 to 2019 – Summary
From: Employment and Social Development Canada
Note: The full version of the report is also available online.
The Federal Government announced investments of $7.5 billion over 11 years, starting in 2017 to 2018 for Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) funding to help Canadian children get the best start in life and better support Canadian families. These investments will support and create high quality and affordable ELCC across the country.
Every year, provinces and territories (P/Ts) report on progress made towards the shared vision of ELCC for all children. The National Progress Report on ELCC 2018 to 2019 highlights each P/T’s accomplishments during this time period. In accordance with the principles of affordability, accessibility, quality, flexibility and inclusivity, the National Progress Report:
- showcases Canada’s long-term goal that all children receive quality ELCC
- shows the progress made at a national level toward this commitment, and by each P/T
- features our promise to invest in new programs and service delivery projects through the ELCC Innovation Program
From 2018 to 2019, federal investments in ELCC (made through the bilateral agreements with P/Ts) resulted in:
- 40,116 more affordable child care spaces across Canada
- increased access to development opportunities for:
- 9,049 student trainees
- ELCC staff across Canada
- inclusive child care programming for 16,390 children from diverse backgrounds, including:
- Indigenous children
- children with additional support needs
- children from francophone minority communities
- recent immigrants
- the creation of 2,686 flexible child care spaces for children whose parents work:
- non-traditional hours
- seasonal employment
The bilateral agreements have resulted in great progress. Each P/T has invested funding in a way that meets the needs of its citizens. For example, investments are supporting:
- bursaries for Early Childhood Education
- Indigenous language and culturally diverse ELCC programming
- pilot projects to expand access to flexible child care spaces
- minority language acquisition
- resources for vulnerable families
The report on the results of the 3rd year of the bilateral agreements will be available later in 2021.
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