$180M offered for child care spaces for schools 

eAwazLocal News

Winnipeg – Families across Canada are striving every day to give their children the best possible start in life. That is why the Government of Canada is working with our provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners on building a Canada-wide early learning and child care system that offers families better access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive child care and early learning opportunities, no matter where they live.

In Winnipeg, the federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, along with Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko, and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, Terry Duguid, announced investments of more than $180 million over the next three years to expand child care spaces in public schools and post-secondary institutions around Manitoba.

Through the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, $132 million will be invested across 36 public schools to create more than 2,400 spaces for children under seven. Another $45  million will be provided to support more than 680 new child-care space expansion projects for children under age seven across eight  post-secondary institutions. Manitoba is also investing an additional $3.4 million to create 615 spaces for children ages seven to 12. 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 also creating good jobs and growing the economy.

“We know that child care is a necessity for Canadian families. That is why Canada and Manitoba are making sure that families in Manitoba have better access to early learning and child care, no matter where they live. Together with our provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners, Canada is committed to achieving our shared goal of creating 250,000 new child care spaces across the country by March 2026.” – Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould