BUILDING A STRONG FUTURE FOR CHILDREN IN NOVA SCOTIA

At the end of the day, the regulated child care sector in Nova Scotia and your government share one common goal: We want the best for our children.

We know an investment in early years is an investment in our province’s future. We also know that quality child care and early learning has many benefits, including:

  • Reducing vulnerabilities and giving children a strong start
  • Long-term physical, mental health and well-being
  • Educational attainment later in life

The availability of affordable childcare helps to boost labour market participation rates for parents. When we invest in early years programming, particularly in rural Nova Scotia, we are investing in jobs for those communities.

The Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement signed today will help us further our priorities for early learning and child care in Nova Scotia. The agreement is valued at $35-million over the next three years.

With this funding, we will be able to:

  • Increase income thresholds for families so that more children will receive the maximum subsidy.
  • Expand the subsidy to include children in part-day programs for the first time.
  • Support the strategic growth of the child-care sector, including 500 new spaces where they’re needed most and adding more spaces for infants.

This agreement will support and strengthen the quality of our system. It will help us support inclusive environments for all children.

With the support of our federal government, these increased investments in our early years system will improve the social and economic well-being of our province now, and in the years to come.