More than 2,000 new child-care spaces to open in Saskatchewan

More than 2,000 new child-care spaces will soon be available in Saskatchewan, thanks to a funding agreement between the provincial and federal governments.

An investment of $28.9 million by the governments of Saskatchewan and Canada will create 2,197 more child-care spaces in regulated centres around the province. Currently, the provincial government funds 22,844 child-care spaces in Saskatchewan.

The funding comes through the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement 2021-26, which was signed in August of last year to finalize a federal investment of nearly $1.1 billion over five years to improve child care in the province.

The goal is to add 28,000 new child-care spaces to Saskatchewan by April of 2026, the provincial government said in a statement.

The provincial government is also working towards a goal to reduce the average fees for regulated child care to $10 per day by the end of March of 2026. Those fees have already dropped by an average of 70 per cent, the government noted, compared to where they stood in March of 2021.

Karina Gould, the federal minister of families, children and social development, said the additional spaces will have many benefits.

“We know that a strong early learning and child-care system will drive economic growth, increase women’s participation in the workforce and offer each child in Canada the best start in life,” Gould said in a statement.

Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s education minister, said the announcement is good news for families around the province.

“In our growing province, we are providing funding for nearly 2,200 more children to attend regulated child care, which provides high-quality early learning, play and exploration environments for our youngest learners,” Duncan said in a statement.

Of the nearly 2,200 new spaces, 1,599 have already been allocated in communities around Saskatchewan to organizations with plans to build new facilities or add new spaces to their current facilities. For the remaining 599 spaces, organizations can apply to receive $10,000 per child-care space for the capital development of their centres.

A full list of the communities receiving new spaces is available below.

(Government of Saskatchewan)