Government investing $200 million in child-care sector

Release

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

March 11, 2025

SAINT JOHN (GNB) – The provincial government is investing $200 million over five years to extend three child-care agreements with the federal government.

One of them, the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, has been extended to March 31, 2031.

“Extending this agreement with our partners in the federal government will allow us to continue providing access to the high-quality and affordable early learning and child-care system that New Brunswickers deserve,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Claire Johnson. “This investment represents our continued commitment to support parents’ workforce participation while ensuring their children are in nurturing, responsive, high-quality learning environments.”

The federal government is investing $876.3 million over five years beginning in 2026-27 to extend that agreement and the Canada New-Brunswick Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. This will be used to subsidize more than 17,000 child-care spaces in the New Brunswick Early Learning Centre and New Brunswick Early Learning Home designation program, as well as spaces that have been allocated but are not yet open. Additionally, the Canada-New Brunswick Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Funding Agreement is being extended for one year.

“We didn’t come this far just to come this far,” said federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds. “We’re going to keep building on our progress, reduce wait-lists, and make $10-a-day child care a reality for families across New Brunswick. That’s what these extension agreements are all about. Affordable child care gives parents, especially moms, options: options to go back to work, build their careers and save money, while ensuring their kids get the best possible start in life.”

Since the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement was signed in December 2021, the provincial government has:

·         Reduced daily out-of-pocket fees paid by families by 50 per cent, to an average of $12.82, and committed to lowering that to an average of $10 per day by March 2026.

·         Updated the early childhood educator wage grid and increased wages to be more competitive.

·         Reduced the turnover rate of early childhood educators to 26 per cent from 50 per cent.

 

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