February 22, 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba Employment and Social Development Canada
The Government of Canada and the Government of Manitoba have agreed to extend the Canada-Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Through the extended agreement, the Government of Canada is providing nearly $98 million in funding over four years to strengthen Manitoba's regulated child care services and offer support for the recruitment and retention of the child care workforce.
Today, the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, virtually joined Wayne Ewasko, Manitoba's Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, to announce this agreement. Because of this agreement, Manitoba will continue to invest federal funding to improve access to high-quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care.
As part of that investment, the Government of Canada is providing a one-time early childhood workforce investment of nearly $19.2 million in 2021-2022. Early childhood educators (ECEs) are at the heart of a high-quality early learning and child care system and this funding will help ensure Manitoba ECEs are well supported and able to further their professional goals. The funding will be used to support the retention of qualified and experienced workers, including increasing wages and financial security for staff, as well as investments to help grow the workforce.
This agreement is separate and distinct from Canada-Manitoba Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, signed in August 2021, which is providing Manitoba with more than $1.2 billion in federal funding over five years. This will support an average fee of $10 a day for regulated child care spaces in the province by March 2023, significantly reducing the cost of child care for families across the province.
The Canada-wide early learning and child care system is now becoming a reality across the country. The Government of Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to make life easier and more affordable for families, grow the middle class, create jobs, help parents-especially mothers-return to the workforce, and offer each child in Canada the best possible start in life.
