Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in St. Thomas on Monday (yesterday) to announce the federal government will provide the province with $201.87 million to create child care spaces and support inclusive child care services across Ontario, especially in underserved communities.
He made the announcement at the 88-space Stationview Child Care Centre on St. Catharine Street which officially opened last November.
This investment, part of the previously announced $625 million Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, will help Ontario reach its goal of creating 86,000 new child care spaces by 2026.
It will mean more spaces in rural and remote regions, high-cost and low-income urban neighbourhoods, and communities that face barriers to access, including racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples, official language minority communities, newcomers, as well as parents, caregivers, and children with disabilities.
Trudeau also highlighted key measures included in Budget 2024 to build more child care spaces and infrastructure, support early childhood educators across the country, and help more families access affordable child care. These include:
- Launching a new Child Care Expansion Loan Program. With up to $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in non-repayable grants, public and not-for-profit child care providers will be able to build new spaces and renovate their existing child care centres. This means more resources for child care providers and more affordable child care options for families.
- Offering student loan forgiveness for rural and remote early childhood educators. This will encourage educators to work in smaller communities and help families get the child care they need. With a $48 million investment over four years, Canada Student Loan forgiveness amounts will increase with the amount of time an educator works in a rural or remote area, attracting and retaining the talent, similar to the benefits we’re offering rural doctors and nurses.
- Increasing training for early childhood educators. We’re investing $10 million over two years to train more early childhood educators, building up the talent needed for the expansion of affordable, high-quality child care.
- Improving child care access for military families. Military service often demands frequent moves and deployments, making quality child care imperative for Canadian Armed Forces members. That is why the federal government is investing $100 million over five years to provide Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their families with better access to child care on bases across Canada.