The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have begun taking steps to improve the quality and accessibility of early learning and child care for families.

The Government of Saskatchewan will be allocating just over $41 million over the next three years toward accessibility, inclusiveness and quality in early learning and child care for families with children with disabilities, First Nations families, newcomers to Canada, families in remote and rural communities and Francophone families.

This funding will also help establish and expand access to newly licensed child care spaces, enhance the quality of early learning and child care experiences for children, inclusive early learning opportunities for preschool-aged children who require intensive supports, and expand Francophone early learning and child care for French language minority communities.

The Saskatchewan Government has also identified key priority areas for the investment, which include providing new inclusive early learning opportunities for at least 220 preschool-aged children who require intensive supports and improving accessibility by creating up to 2,515 new child care spaces.

They plan on improving the quality of early learning child care by: 

  • training early childhood educators, licensed family child care home providers and child care centre directors

  • implementing Play and Exploration: Early Learning Program Guide, supporting up to 16,000 children, in licensed child care centers and licensed child care homes

  • supporting young children to be more physically active by implementing developmentally appropriate programs in licensed child care centres and licensed child care homes

  • targeting opportunities for children with limited access to early learning programs to improve literacy skills among preschool-aged children.

The $41 million in funding is part of a bilateral agreement between the federal and provincial governments to make significant investments in early learning and child care systems.

It is a part of the federal government's plan to invest $7.5 billion from the federal budget over 11 years to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care spaces across the country, particularly for families in need.