The federal government, provinces, and territories have signed an agreement on a Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. The new national framework will allow parents to go back to work easier and reduce the financial burdens on families with young children. Five principles guide the Framework:
- High quality
- Inclusivity, including measures to meet the specific needs of First Nations children.
In the coming months, our government will collaborate with the provinces and territories to develop three-year bilateral funding agreements that meet the specific needs of each jurisdiction. This long-term partnership with provinces and territories will ensure the child care system has increased capacity, creating up to 40,000 new child care spaces.
Budget 2016 provided an initial $500 million in 2017–18 for early learning and child care. Building on this commitment, Budget 2017 proposes to invest an additional $7 billion over 10 years to create more child care spaces and improve quality of care across the country through the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework.
Combined with the Canada Child Benefit, the Framework will strengthen Canada’s middle class and our economy. This agreement will give more Canadian children the best start in life by supporting the families who need it most.