News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Mr. Speaker, the second priority is helping children get support earlier. A portion of this new investment will support early childhood screening, with the first steps starting this fall and full implementation planned for the 2027-2028 school year. Because when we identify needs earlier, children get help before they fall behind, teachers can respond sooner, and families spend less time searching for answers."

Excerpt: "The Department of Education and Early Childhood Education has formed an early childhood educator steering committee that will help guide next steps towards introducing benefits for early childhood educators in Newfoundland and Labrador. The committee will ensure early childhood educators in the province have a forum to make recommendations to government and provide workforce-informed advice on topics such as working conditions, compensation, professional supports, pension options, changes to the provincial early childhood educator wage grid, paid sick leave, recruitment and retention. The new committee consists of 12 early childhood educators, including at least one member from each region of the province, and members representing rural and urban perspectives, Indigenous communities, Francophone communities, family child care providers, and centre-based early childhood educators."

Excerpt: "The $8.5 billion Agreement marks a transformative step toward First Nations-led services that are compassionate and culturally grounded, strengthening families, supporting children, and advancing First Nations self-determination for generations to come. Its goal is clear: fewer First Nations children in care, fewer children entering care for the first time, and more families receiving the support they need before a crisis occurs. Representing over 130 First Nations and nearly a quarter of a million people—including more than 60,000 families—the Chiefs of Ontario, alongside Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s 49 northern communities and approximately 50,000 members, celebrated this historic milestone and the beginning of implementation."

Excerpt: "The funded projects will generate new evidence on what works for school food programs, helping improve their impact on children and families in Canada. These research partnerships will fill key gaps in data and knowledge related to health and well-being of children, especially those facing barriers, as well as program delivery and governance in different jurisdictions and contexts, including in accordance with the National School Food Policy. Selected projects collectively span a range of topic areas, research approaches and geographies—from specific communities or regions to projects with national scope. The National School Food Program (NSFP) is part of the Government of Canada's plan to lower costs for families. It helps 400,000 more children each year access nutritious food at school, while bringing parents more financial security in their household budgets."

Excerpt: "A social initiative supporting vulnerable children and their families will get an additional $600,000 over the next two years. The funding will help Bee Me Kidz continue delivering programs and services for low-income families. These include social and emotional skills development, nutritional support and parental education designed to strengthen the resilience of children and their families, enhance their well-being and support children’s learning potential. With this additional investment, the Department of Social Development’s total contribution will reach $900,000."

Excerpt: "Effective June 1, licensed child-care facilities must post on-site notices of high-risk, potentially criminal incidents reported at their programs. These notices will go up within one business day (or as soon as reasonably possible) after incidents are reported, in areas visible to parents. A notice will also be posted on alberta.ca with the program name and the date on which the incident was reported. Families whose children are involved in such incidents will continue to be notified directly by their respective child-care programs."

Excerpt: "That is why this budget proposes to double the Nunavut Child Benefit, while also increasing it each year to help keep up with the rising cost of living. The budget also proposes a $4 million (or 2.9 times) increase in the Early Childhood Program Day Care contributions. This is direct support aimed at helping lower-income families manage rising costs. Because even modest assistance can make a real difference for families where every dollar matters."

Excerpt: "The Early Childhood Infrastructure Fund now has three distinct funding streams: the Major Projects Fund, the Minor Projects Fund, and the Developmental (Needs Assessment) Projects Fund. The new funding streams simplify the Early Childhood Infrastructure Fund application process and help create new licensed early learning and child care spaces. Funding priority will be given to communities with limited or non-existent early learning and child care programming."

Excerpt: "A new child-care centre in Halifax’s Bayers Lake Business Park will improve families’ access to care. The provincial and federal governments are providing almost $2 million to help the Silver Crescent Academy Society relocate and expand. The new centre will have up to 120 spaces, up from 71 at the current location in Rockingham."

Excerpt: "The Council of Yukon First Nations will receive $694,600 over two years (2025 to 2027), to renovate a commercial space in Whitehorse and create up to 14 Yukon First Nations-led, licensed early learning and child care spaces. The new child care program will offer a unique opportunity to expand the organization’s continuum of care for Yukon First Nations and Indigenous families. The Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon will receive $581,914 over two years (2025 to 2027), to renovate an existing space in Whitehorse and create up to 28 Francophone licensed early learning and child care spaces. This project supports an expansion of the Garderie du petit cheval blanc, a French first language child care program, to a second location in Takhini, in addition to its Copper Ridge location."

Excerpt: "Almost 90,000 students have joined Alberta’s classrooms in just four years as record population growth continues to put pressure on schools, teachers and classroom learning environments. Growing class sizes and increasingly complex classrooms are making it harder for teachers to give students the support and attention they need to succeed. To help address these pressures, Alberta’s government is acting now by providing $200 million to schools through the new Class Size Reduction Grant. The funding will support the hiring of more than 1,400 teachers in grades K-9 to help reduce class sizes and improve classroom learning conditions in increasingly complex classrooms."

Excerpt: "School districts will have access to a new provincial investment to create before- and after-school child care spaces as early as fall 2026. The Ministry of Infrastructure is providing $5 million in child care capital funding to support renovations and the repurposing of existing space in school buildings to create new child care spaces. This program is the first of its kind, building on the Province’s work to look at innovative ways of creating spaces more efficiently. Successful applicants will be eligible to access additional funding through the Ministry of Education and Child Care to support opening these spaces, including $20 million to support operating costs for new child care programs over the next three years."