Families across Canada know that affordable child care is not a luxury ‒ it is a necessity. With global inflation driving up the cost of living and making it harder for families to make ends meet, the Government of Canada has been working with provinces and territories to deliver on our promise of $10-a-day child care – putting more money back in the pockets of Canadian families, driving economic growth that benefits everyone, and giving children the best possible start in life.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of Manitoba, Heather Stefanson, today announced that Manitoba will achieve an average of $10-a-day regulated child care on April 2, 2023 – three years ahead of the national target. This milestone achievement could save families hundreds of dollars per child, per month on average.
This announcement comes less than two years after the governments of Canada and Manitoba reached an agreement to support an average of $10-a-day regulated child care in the province. Already, families in nearly half of Canada’s provinces and territories are benefitting from regulated early learning and child care at an average of $10-a-day or less, and fees have been cut by at least 50 per cent in all other jurisdictions, with work on track to deliver $10-a-day child care on average by March 2026.
Delivering $10-a-day child care across the country is a key part of the federal government’s plan to make life more affordable for Canadians. It builds on a wide range of other support programs, including the Canada Child Benefit, which puts more money into the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families with children and has helped lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. We will continue to put Canadian families at the heart of everything we do, as we make life more affordable, create good jobs, and grow the economy to benefit all Canadians.
