News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "The Child Care Sustainability Trust provides one-time funding to support essential improvements at licensed child-care centres for projects focused on: repairs and maintenance to ensure facilities remain safe and welcoming for children and staff; innovative program upgrades that improve accessibility and inclusivity in indoor and outdoor environments; wellness initiatives that foster positive mental health for both children and child-care providers; and professional development opportunities to enhance management practices, cultural competency and specialized training for staff working with children with additional support needs."

Excerpt: "Beginning this school year, kindergarten students in B.C. will be screened to determine where they are in their development of reading skills. This brief screening can identify early signs of reading difficulties and help ensure timely, targeted support is provided to students who may benefit from additional assistance. “Children enter school with different literacy experiences and needs,” said Alicia Smith, executive director, Dyslexia Canada. “Early screening gives educators an efficient way to understand those needs, plan effective instruction for the whole class and ensure students who need extra support can get help sooner, before they fall behind.” School districts will use screening tools that align with the criteria set by the Ministry of Education and Child Care. "

Excerpt: "Lil Snowflakes child care centre recently added 55 new early learning and child care spaces, for a total of 86 spaces at the centre. Further to the expansion of Lil Snowflakes, there are five early learning and child care projects in development in Labrador. These five projects will result in 68 new child care spaces, which will all operate at $10-a-day, helping to ensure that families in Labrador can access affordable child care. The projects are supported through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement."

Excerpt: "Over 560 Yukoners completed the online survey between May 14 and June 15, 2025, and additional feedback came from in-person sessions and meetings with community partners and Yukon First Nations. Key findings show that: over 80 per cent of respondents support building a new public school downtown; the Kèjän and Rogers site (formerly 5th and Rogers) was the preferred location for most respondents, followed by the current École Whitehorse Elementary School site; traffic flow, safety, accessibility and access to green spaces were top priorities for many participants; and many respondents want the new school to include outdoor learning spaces, community spaces like gyms and early learning and child care services."

Excerpt: "The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education System Performance Measures Technical Report for the 2023-24 school year. The report provides an overview of how the NWT education system is performing and helps education leaders, families, and the GNWT focus on improving student outcomes and well-being. The 2023-24 report highlights areas of progress: The number of educators working in the NWT has grown steadily over the past two years; Students in Grades 9-10 increasingly report feeling accepted by their teachers; More high school graduates are choosing to pursue post-secondary education."

Excerpt: "The primary measure of success for the Strategy will be an increase in the number of licensed early learning and child care programs and spaces throughout the NWT over time. This information will be made available through annual reporting on the Canada-NWT Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreement (2021-2025) and Action Plan (2021-22) and subsequent bilateral agreements, including the Canada-NWT Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (2021-2026) and Action Plan (2021-2023). The results will also be included in ECE’s evaluation schedule for early learning and child care programs."

Excerpt: "The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released two new resources to support the planning and development of new licensed centre-based child care spaces across the territory. These resources are designed to assist current and prospective child care providers, including individuals, businesses, and organizations interested in entering the sector, as well as the contractors, developers, architects and consultants they may engage to build new facilities or renovate existing ones."

Excerpt: "The Yukon’s Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund has awarded $381,500 in funding to two community projects to enhance early learning and child care programming in the Yukon. The fund exclusively supports not-for-profit and public early learning and child care providers. Its goal is to increase spaces in priority areas such as rural, First Nations-led programs and French first language programs, and to improve accessibility in early learning and child care centres. These investments are part of the Government of Yukon’s ongoing commitment to support children and families from diverse backgrounds. The fund builds on existing programs that help Yukon families save up to $8,400 per child annually through the universal child care program. It also promotes fair wages for early childhood educators and provides more support for licensed child care operators."

Excerpt: "Eighteen new centres on school grounds are opening for the return to school or have recently opened, including spaces operated by school district staff. Partnering with school districts is one way the Province is working to create new child care spaces that meet the unique needs of busy families in urban and rural communities, with one pickup and dropoff location. “The staff at Surrey schools and child care providers have worked tirelessly to create warm, welcoming and safe environments for children and families throughout our community,” said Gary Tymoschuk, chair, Surrey School District (SD36). “The investments made by the federal and provincial governments in reliable, affordable child care – close to home and within school communities – will have a profoundly positive impact on Surrey.” When the new facilities are open, families will benefit from affordable child care fees, through the Province’s fee-reduction program, which reduces the cost of child care by as much as $900 per child per month. Families that need additional support with the cost of child care may also be eligible for the Affordable Child Care Benefit."

Excerpt: "The Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada are investing $10.8 million to expand early learning and child care (ELCC) through the development of new child care centres at Saskatchewan Polytechnic campuses and Northlands College. Through the federal ELCC Infrastructure Fund, as part of the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide ELCC Agreement, 450 new child care spaces will be created at the Saskatchewan Polytechnic campuses in Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and the new Saskatoon campus, along with 90 additional spaces at Northlands College in La Ronge. This investment in infrastructure will strengthen the regulated child care system by designating 30 per cent of the spaces for families facing barriers to access, including children with disabilities."

Excerpt: "The Province is working with schools and child-care partners to add the Nova Scotia Before and After Program in 21 schools across the province. The program is also adding spaces at some current locations to better meet the needs of families. In total, more than 1,200 new spaces are expected to be created for the 2025-26 school year. The program provides care for children ages four to 12 enrolled in public school before classes begin and after they end. Care is provided at the school so students have a seamless day."

Excerpt: "The Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education will be presented to early childhood educators who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the early learning field. Recipients will be chosen based on their contributions to the well-being of children in their care and commitment to fostering high-quality and inclusive early learning environments. The full nomination package and criteria will be released this fall. The announcement was held at St. Matthew’s School, a future site for a pre-kindergarten program. Once operational, the pre-kindergarten program will offer 20 early learning and child care spaces at $10 a day for families in the area. This is one of 25 early learning and child care projects representing 574 child care spaces newly approved for development in the Avalon and Central regions. A total of 1,657 child care spaces have been recently announced and are in development throughout the province."