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Policy Monitor

The Policy Monitor tracks Federal, Provincial and Territorial early childhood policy initiatives, developments and announcements.

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British Columbia
Excerpt: "Supporting child care and K-12 education: Budget 2026 includes $634 million in new funding for teachers, student services, and to support inclusive learning as the number of inclusive learning students enrolled is on the rise; A $167-million investment in the Classroom Enhancement Fund will result in more teachers for everyone, as well as special education teachers and teacher psychologists and counsellors; Another $3.9 billion in capital funding is allocated for seismic replacements and upgrades as well as projects to address enrolment growth in B.C.鈥檚 fastest-growing communities; Budget 2026 provides a $330-million lift to ChildCareBC to stabilize the programs and services that families rely on as government works to modernize B.C.鈥檚 child care system. This stabilization is critical as provinces and territories continue negotiations with the federal government to drive flexibility and resilience across the system. This funding will maintain lower fees, and the spaces and support for operators and educators achieved over the past eight years."

British Columbia
Excerpt: "Starting July 2027, a new income-tested B.C. Children and Youth Disability Supplement will also become available to families with any child under age 18 who is eligible for the federal Disability Tax Credit. The supplement will provide up to $6,000 per year (based on the level of family net income), which families can use to pay for therapies, supports and services they believe are most helpful. The new supplement is designed to support families with middle and low incomes."

Manitoba
Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is increasing its investment in schools by $79.8 million for the 2026-27 school year, Education and Early Childhood Minister Tracy Schmidt announced today. 鈥淥ur government is committed to making sure every Manitoba family can count on strong, stable public schools, year after year. We are meeting the needs of students and communities by building new schools and feeding kids with our universal school food program,鈥 said Schmidt. 鈥淭his is good news for teachers, school divisions and families while building a brighter future for Manitoba鈥檚 students.鈥 The Manitoba government is allocating $11.4 million in public school funding to support divisions most affected by teacher salary harmonization. Salary harmonization will be implemented in the 2026-27 school year. Salary harmonization standardizes teacher pay scales across school divisions to help minimize disparities."

New Brunswick

Excerpt: "The reports summarize the almost 11,000 responses received by the anglophone sector and more than 3,000 responses received by the francophone sector. 鈥淲e are committed to creating a collective vision for education, along with our partners in the early learning and child-care sector, teachers and other education professionals, stakeholders, experts and parents,鈥 said Johnson. 鈥淭hese new education plans will play a significant role in the direction of New Brunswick education for years to come.鈥"

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Saskatchewan
Excerpt: "The provincial government signed a new five-year deal in November to keep the $10-a-day program going. Many provinces signed agreements months earlier, but Saskatchewan鈥檚 Education Minister said the province was holding out to get a better deal. The new deal includes a base funding increase to help with inflationary costs and an expansion to the age limit so kids who turn six can stay in the program until they start school. Werner said the delay may have contributed to a lack of new spaces opening in the last while, because providers wouldn鈥檛 want to go through all the work of planning and funding if the program was going away. 鈥淎ll of that gets put on hold 鈥 we don鈥檛 want to go into a bunch of debt and then not know if the funding is even going to be in place,鈥 she explained."

Canada
Excerpt: "The ministers reviewed the progress achieved in all jurisdictions since 2021 to increase access and improve affordability of child care for families in Canada including initiatives under the initial set of Canada-wide agreements. Ministers also acknowledged the need to get this right for Canadian families, given the pressures facing families, providers and governments amid ongoing global economic disruption. Under this Canada-wide system partnership, all jurisdictions made substantial progress to improve child care affordability by reducing fees by at least 50% resulting in families saving thousands per child, per year, varying by jurisdiction. Furthermore, access to affordable child care allows more parents, particularly mothers, to participate in the labour force and achieve greater economic security. Thanks in part to the Canada-wide system, the participation of mothers with young children in the labour force reached a near record high in 2025."

Nunavut
Excerpt: "Under the Canada鈥揘unavut Agreement, an investment of close to $8.5 million has been made in Nunavut. This funding will help the territory offer quality French as a minority language and French as a second language education, from preschool to the post-secondary level. An investment by the Government of Nunavut is also planned to support the aims of the Agreement. Bilateral agreements on minority-language education and second-language instruction have been in place with the Government of Nunavut for many years and support the territory in delivering activities aimed at teaching French in a minority situation and learning a second official language."

Ontario

Excerpt: "This curriculum policy replaces The Kindergarten Program, 2016. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, all
Kindergarten programs will be based on the expectations outlined in this curriculum policy."

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British Columbia
Excerpt: "The Province is protecting parents from extra child care fees by requiring providers to offer at least 9.5 hours of care per day before charging for extended hours. 鈥淔amilies deserve predictability and fairness,鈥 said Lisa Beare, Minister of Education and Child Care. 鈥淏y setting a clear threshold, we鈥檙e closing a loophole to make sure hard-working parents aren鈥檛 paying more for a reasonable day of care. These changes protect the pocketbooks of B.C. families and establish consistency for providers, while maintaining their flexibility to design programs that meet community needs.鈥"

Alberta

Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, along with the Honourable Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta鈥檚 Minister of Education and Childcare, announced a one-year extension to both the Canada鈥揂lberta Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the Canada鈥揂lberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement until March 31, 2027. In total, today鈥檚 announcement means that more than $1.17 billion in federal funding has been allocated to the Government of Alberta for 2026鈥27. This funding will support continued access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services, and help maintain the $15-a-day parent fees for licensed early learning and child care."

Also see Government of Alberta news release,
 

Saskatchewan
Excerpt: "We found 694 instances where child care spaces were underutilized compared to approved spaces. This suggests the Ministry may have approved new child care spaces in locations that do not need them. Also, not analyzing the supply of early childhood educators increases the risk of approving spaces that cannot be staffed."

Ontario
Excerpt: "Ontario is investing $20 million to launch the Liam Riazati Memorial Fund, a new initiative to help protect children in child care by helping community-based licensed facilities install concrete barriers. The new fund honours the life of Liam Riazati, a child who tragically passed away following a motor vehicle collision with a child care centre in September 2025."