News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Saskatchewan’s provincial education plan represents a commitment to Saskatchewan students and their families. The focus of the plan is to support students for their future and to ensure students feel safe and supported. The 2024-25 school year is the second year of provincial education plan implementation.

The provincial education plan focuses on the needs of all Prekindergarten to Grade 12 students. This plan reflects the diversity of the province and ensures the presence and voices of First Nations and Métis education organizations are heard and felt throughout, as part of the journey towards reconciliation in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan’s education sector is foundational in contributing to the goals of Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan – The Next Decade of Growth 2020-2030 and securing a better quality of life for Saskatchewan people. The provincial education plan actions build resiliency in students and the foundational skills, knowledge and competencies they will need for their future.

Excerpt: "Families in Colchester and Inverness counties will soon have more options for child care as new spaces become available with provincial and federal support. The Lower Onslow Preschool Association in Masstown, Colchester County, is creating 52 spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, while the East Coast Early Learning Association in Margaree, Inverness County, is creating 14 toddler and preschool spaces."

Excerpt: "The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, today announced details of 15 early learning and child care projects in the western region. Minister Davis was joined by the Honourable Dr. Scott Reid, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation and MHA for St. George’s-Humber, and Terri Clancey, co-owner of Meadow View Childcare. These 15 projects in the Western region represent 345 child care spaces which will all operate at $10-a-day, ensuring that families can access affordable child care."

Excerpt: "The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, today announced the Provincial Government has partnered with the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation Inc. to support, promote and enhance pre-kindergarten programming in Newfoundland and Labrador. This partnership will support ongoing efforts to evolve pre-kindergarten into a universal program for all four-year-olds in the province that is fully integrated into the culture, curriculum and community of the neighbourhood school. Through this partnership, the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation Inc. will work with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to: Evaluate the current pre-kindergarten program; Establish a continuum of professional learning and curriculum development; Incorporate principles of outdoor play into the pre-kindergarten program."

Excerpt: "As families raising children across the country receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) today, the Honourable Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth), announced that the benefit amounts have increased for 2025–26. Families can now receive up to $7,997 per child under the age of 6 and $6,748 per child aged 6 through 17. This represents approximately a $200 increase from the previous year and will help parents manage everyday expenses like groceries, clothing or child care, providing added support as they raise their children."

Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, announced details of 27 early learning and child care projects which are underway or have recently opened in the Avalon region. Minister Davis was joined by Paul Connors, Member of Parliament for Avalon. These projects represent 631 child care spaces which will all operate at $10-a-day, ensuring that families can access affordable child care. The announcement was made at Dream with Us child care centre in Conception Bay South, which recently opened 56 child care spaces at $10-a-day for families in the area. A complete list of the 27 early learning and child care projects is available in the backgrounder below. All projects are now open or set to open in the coming months."

Excerpt: "Families in Sydney will benefit from more access to child care with plans underway to build a new 104-space early learning and child-care centre on the Cape Breton University (CBU) campus. The centre, a partnership between the Province and CBU, will be built on university property behind the new medical school. It will offer spaces and programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers."

Excerpt: "Following recommendations resulting from investigations into the finances of four school boards, the Ontario government is appointing supervisors to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB). These supervisors will address concerns regarding growing deficits, depleting reserves and ongoing cases of mismanagement. As part of its plan to protect Ontario and ensure students are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, these actions will help the province restore sound financial management at these school boards and ensure that every dollar invested is preparing students with practical skills for good-paying, stable careers."

Excerpt: "The early learning and child care infrastructure investment will support the creation of new child care spaces when and where families need it. This will be done by ensuring that the allocation of the early learning and child care infrastructure funding prioritize diverse NWT community settings and those that are in higher need of child care. Additional interrelated priorities include: communities where families face barriers to accessing licensed child care programs; communities where there are no existing early learning and child care facilities, especially for children birth to age 3; access and inclusion for families who identify as vulnerable, equity seeking, and those with children with developmental needs. This priority includes existing facilities that require infrastructure updates to meet the demands of children with developmental needs."

Excerpt: "The Government of Northwest Territories is committed to supporting an early learning and child care system that provides children and families with access to high-quality early learning and child care across the Northwest Territories. The 2030 Early Learning and Child Care Strategy and the Canada – Northwest Territories Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement provides the Government of the Northwest Territories with goals for improving the quality, affordability, accessibility and inclusivity of early learning and child care in the Northwest Territories and shares the long-term vision for a Canada-wide early learning child care system as set out in the Government of Canada’s Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework and Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. Like the rest of Canada, families in the Northwest Territories face challenges in finding child care spaces for their children. For instance, as of February 2024, there were 14 communities in the territory without licensed early learning and child care. To help address the shortage of child care spaces, in May 2024, the Government of Canada and Government of the Northwest Territories announced that the territory would receive approximately $10 million over the next four years. In addition, the Government of the Northwest Territories invests $1,000,000 annually in infrastructure projects through the Early Learning and Childhood Infrastructure Fund."

Excerpt: "Families in Antigonish County will have more access to francophone early learning and child care with a new centre operated by the Centre d'appui à la petite enfance de la Nouvelle-Écosse. “The demand for child-care spaces in Antigonish continues to grow,” said Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “This expansion responds to long-standing challenges faced by local families, who have had limited access to francophone child care in their community.”"

Excerpt: "Families in the Lake Charlotte area of Halifax Regional Municipality are getting improved access to child care. The Province is providing about $1.9 million to support the creation of 72 new child-care spaces at a new centre that will be operated by the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth."