Fund Canada-wide child care

AI summary

Petitioners ask the federal government to fund universal, affordable, inclusive Canada-wide early learning and child care, with future budgets indexed to inflation. The government responds it has committed Canada-wide funding, extended agreements and targeted support.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled : We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House to affirm and provide consistent access to universal, affordable, inclusive, high quality early learning and child care. We request that all future budgets include adequate funding that keeps up with inflation and allows for the growth of the program. It is essential to the healthy development of children, to the economic value of women entering the labour force, and to alleviate the affordability crisis that is affecting the wellbeing of families and communities across Canada. This legacy project needs federal leadership to flourish.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario Signed by Annie Koutrakis Early Learning and Child Care is a core part of Canada’s social infrastructure, supporting increased labour force participation–particularly among mothers–while contributing to economic growth and job creation for early childhood educators. Since 2021, the Government of Canada has committed more than $58 billion in federal funding through agreements with provinces and territories to build and maintain an affordable Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system through March 2031. This includes historic and transformative investment which provided more than $27 billion from 2021 to 2026 to establish a Canada-wide early learning and child care system with provinces and territories. In 2025, all Canada-wide agreements were extended, reflecting a shared commitment to continue improving access to affordable, high-quality regulated child care. As part of these extended agreements, funding for provinces and territories will increase by 3% annually from 2027–2028 to 2030–2031, helping ensure predictability while providing flexibility to address inflationary pressures. Across Canada, families are saving thousands of dollars through the Canada-wide early learning and child care system. As a result of these investments, parents are saving up to $11,255 per child each year, and governments have announced measures to create more than 250,000 new affordable, high-quality child care spaces across the country. The Minister of Jobs and Families recently announced that the Government of Canada is providing an additional $5.4 billion over two-years, starting in 2026-2027, to support provinces and territories in keeping child care fees stable and affordable for families. The new funding is an increase in funding of more than 30% over the two years. Further, the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act commits the federal government to long-term funding for provinces and territories, including support for Indigenous peoples and official language minority communities, providing greater stability for families, workers, and the child care sector. Child care has also played a role in easing cost pressures for families. Notably, it is one of the few household expenses that has declined in cost since 2021. The child care component of the Consumer Price Index has decreased by 34.7% as of March 2026 from its peak in March 2022, while the All-items Consumer Price Index has increased by 12.4% over the same period. In terms of job creation, employment among early childhood educators and assistants has increased by approximately 78,400 workers, or 36.4%, since the announcement of the Canada-wide system in April 2021. In 2025, employment in this sector grew by 2.8%, compared to 1.4% growth in overall employment across Canada. Affordable child care is also key to supporting women’s participation in the labour force. As of 2025, the labour force participation rate of mothers aged 25–54 with children under six reached 79.5%, a 3.7 percentage point increase from 75.8% in 2019 (pre-pandemic), reflecting in part the impact of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system. Investing in early learning and child care is vitally important not just for families but for our economy. While Canada continues to face external global economic pressures and domestic challenges, the Government of Canada remains committed to working together with provinces and territories and Indigenous partners to protect the long-term sustainability of this important program that makes life more affordable for families across Canada.