Every child in Canada would be able to access high quality ELCC services within 10 years
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released its Alternative Federal Budget 2019, No Time to Lose. Included is a revised approach to Canada’s early learning and child care (ELCC) and increased government spending to establish universal, comprehensive, publicly funded and publicly managed child care systems in every province, territory and Indigenous community.
Under the alternate plan, within 10 years every child in Canada will be able to access high quality ELCC services regardless of where they live, their family income or other circumstances — if the family so chooses.
To do so, the report suggests that in 2019-20:
- the government transfer $1 billion to provinces, territories and Indigenous communities for the purpose of beginning to build accessible, affordable, high quality, inclusive ELCC systems. Funding for Indigenous communities will support the implementation of the Indigenous-led ELCC Framework.
- The government increase Canada’s ELCC budget each year until it reaches at least 1% of GDP—the international benchmark for government spending on child care and early learning — by the 2029-30 fiscal year.
Read more details from the Alternative Federal Budget 2019.
