SUDBURY – As part of the 2024 Budget roll out, the federal government announced new measures to create more affordable child care spaces – saving more families thousands of dollars and helping more parents return to their careers.

These measures include:

• Offering student loan forgiveness for rural and remote early childhood educators. This will encourage educators to work in smaller communities and help families get the childcare they need. With a $48 million investment over four years, student loan forgiveness will increase the longer an educator works in a rural or remote area, attracting and retaining the talent, similar to the programs we’re offering rural doctors and nurses.

• Launching a new Child Care Expansion Loan Program. With $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in non-repayable grants, public and not-for-profit childcare providers will be able to build new spaces and renovate their existing child care centres. This means more resources for child care providers and more affordable child care options for families.

• Increasing training for early childhood educators. We’re investing $10 million over two years to train more early childhood educators, building up the talent needed for the expansion of affordable, high-quality child care.

In just three years, much progress has been made in building a nation-wide early learning and childcare system. Across the country, over 750,000 children are already benefiting from affordable, high-quality childcare, with some families saving up to $14,000 per child, per year. Alongside provinces and territories, we have also announced over 100,000 new spaces, well on our way to reaching our goal of creating 250,000 new spaces by March 2026.

Quotes

“Every child deserves the best start in life, but for too long access to affordable and available childcare services was not possible for many families in Sudbury.  Some families I met with told me their childcare costs were higher than their monthly rent or mortgage payments. With our government’s childcare agreement, Sudbury families are now saving thousands of dollars every month. But we need more spaces. I’ve heard from providers, like YMCA Northeastern Ontario, and know the challenges in having access to spaces and educators. By building more childcare spaces, and attracting and training more childcare workers, we’re making sure even more young families can access affordable childcare and save money.” Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament Sudbury

“We are thrilled to hear about the new measures taken by the federal government to increase the availability of affordable child care spaces. By investing in innovative approaches to attract and retain child care staff, particularly in rural communities like those we serve at the YMCA of Northeastern Ontario, we're not only igniting their potential with rewarding employment opportunities but also ensuring children have safe and nurturing environments to shine.” - Lorrie Turnbull, President & Chief Executive Officer, YMCA Northeastern Ontario