This release was issued under a previous government.
Minister Larivee chats with an attendee at the Canada-Alberta Bilateral Early Learning and Child Care Agreement announcement, while participating in a table top activity with a young girl.
Today, Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities for the Government of Canada, on behalf of Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and Danielle Larivee, Minister of Children’s Services for Alberta, announced a three-year bilateral agreement that reaffirms their commitment to children’s development, helping parents with the costs of raising children and addressing the unique early learning and child care needs of families in Alberta.
“The development of early learning and child care systems is one of the best investments our government is making to strengthen Canadian families, society and the economy. Through the agreement signed with the Government of Alberta, we will be able to better support parents, families and communities in their efforts to build high-quality, inclusive and affordable early learning and child care.”
The agreement allocates just over $136 million over three years to Alberta for early learning and child care investments. Funding to the province will focus on increasing access to quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care through the expansion of Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Centres across the province.
“We believe accessible, affordable quality child care is essential to positive early childhood development, labour force participation of parents, women’s equality, social integration and inclusion of newcomers, and poverty reduction—all aspects of social and economic growth.”
In 2017, the Government of Alberta launched 22 pilot ELCC Centres, based on a maximum fee for all parents of $25 per day to support children and their families accessing affordable, quality, flexible and inclusive child care. With this new funding, up to 78 additional ELCC Centres will be launched across Alberta in 2017-2018.
“Kids in Alberta deserve the best possible start to life, and our government is committed to making early learning and child care, and other life-changing opportunities, more affordable for families. We are proud to have the support of the Government of Canada to make $25-a-day child care available to even more families in our province, and we look forward to announcing the locations of additional Early Learning and Child Care pilot centres in the very near future.”
This announcement follows a historic agreement, made on June 12, 2017, by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care on a Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. The framework sets the foundation for governments to work towards a shared long-term vision where all children across Canada can experience the enriching environment of quality early learning and child care.