News & Stories: Canada

Excerpt: "Today, the Honourable Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced that the federal government is committing $1.55 billion to renew Jordan’s Principle until March 31, 2027. This investment responds to sustained demand over the past decade and will protect uninterrupted access to essential supports for children."

Excerpt: "The ministers reviewed the progress achieved in all jurisdictions since 2021 to increase access and improve affordability of child care for families in Canada including initiatives under the initial set of Canada-wide agreements. Ministers also acknowledged the need to get this right for Canadian families, given the pressures facing families, providers and governments amid ongoing global economic disruption. Under this Canada-wide system partnership, all jurisdictions made substantial progress to improve child care affordability by reducing fees by at least 50% resulting in families saving thousands per child, per year, varying by jurisdiction. Furthermore, access to affordable child care allows more parents, particularly mothers, to participate in the labour force and achieve greater economic security. Thanks in part to the Canada-wide system, the participation of mothers with young children in the labour force reached a near record high in 2025."

Excerpt: "Canada-wide early learning and child care transfer payments are expected to increase from $7.9 billion in 2025-26 to $8.5 billion in 2029-30, reflecting 3 per cent per year growth for four years starting in 2027-28 as announced in 2025. This also includes $625 million over four years, beginning in 2023-24, for the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund."

Excerpt: "Openness, transparency and accountability are guiding principles of the Government of Canada, and we agree with the Auditor General that regular analysis and reporting on the Canada-wide system is essential to protect its integrity and ensure it continues to empower families by meeting their evolving needs. More work is needed to improve reporting practices. We are working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to provide Canadians with clear and accurate information on the progress being made to build a stronger system, reduce costs and empower families across the country."

Excerpt: "To deliver that change, we will take bold action and make responsible choices. Budget 2025 will spend less on government operations and reduce waste, so we can invest more to grow our economy and to protect the programs that make life more affordable for you. To that end, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced key measures today from the upcoming federal Budget that will lower costs and protect essential programs that empower Canadians: Starting automatic federal benefits for the 2026 tax year that will reach up to 5.5 million low-income Canadians by the 2028 tax year. The CRA will automatically file these individuals’ taxes to ensure they receive government benefits they qualify for, such as the GST/HST credit, the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Disability Benefit, and more – including benefits that these Canadians may not be aware they are entitled to; Making the National School Food Program permanent to provide meals for up to 400,000 children. This program ensures kids are fed healthy meals at school and saves families with two children $800 per year on groceries. By making it permanent, we will work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to expand the program into more schools across Canada; Renewing the Canada Strong Pass for the holidays and for summer 2026 so children and young families can discover Canada with lower costs. It will be renewed from December 12, 2025, to January 15, 2026, and then again for summer 2026. This also helps students travelling home for the holidays with a 25% discount on VIA Rail for young adults aged 18 to 24. With the Canada Strong Pass, Canadians can visit national, provincial, and territorial museums, historic sites, parks, and travel by rail for free or at a reduced cost."

Excerpt: "As families raising children across the country receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) today, the Honourable Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth), announced that the benefit amounts have increased for 2025–26. Families can now receive up to $7,997 per child under the age of 6 and $6,748 per child aged 6 through 17. This represents approximately a $200 increase from the previous year and will help parents manage everyday expenses like groceries, clothing or child care, providing added support as they raise their children."

Excerpt: "The Sectoral Table on the Care Economy builds on the Government of Canada’s historic investments to strengthen social infrastructure. These investments have included transformative improvements in early learning and child care, improved tax support for caregivers through the Canada caregiver credit, and improved access to long-term care and other continuing care services through the Aging with Dignity agreements signed with each province and territory."

Excerpt: "Under their Agreements, provinces and territories have committed to creating more than 250,000 new child care spaces across the country by March 2026. As of February 2025, provinces and territories have announced measures to create over 150,000 new child care spaces, representing a 16 percent increase for children aged 0-5 since 2019."

Excerpt: "Today, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, alongside the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds, announced that the federal government has reached early learning and child care extension agreements with 11 out of 13 provinces and territories, ensuring families get all the supports they need so they can join the workforce or continue their career while raising their kids. With these extensions, provinces and territories will receive $36.8 billion to move forward on progress to create new child care spaces, reduce waitlists, and hire more early childhood educators across the country. Affordable child care is good for kids and parents, and it’s good for the economy as well. With this increased and continued investment in early learning and child care, more parents – especially women – can enter the workforce and advance their careers. That means more good-paying jobs, more opportunities for early childhood educators, more economic growth across our communities, and a stronger, fairer Canada for everyone. It is estimated that for every dollar invested in child care, the economy gets $2.80 in return – a testament to the fact that affordable child care is good for families, and good for our country."

Excerpt: "The Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) is receiving $47.7 million in new funding to create a network of early learning and child care stakeholders that will support cross-sectoral coordination in the implementation of specific initiatives for Francophone minority communities across Canada. Through partnerships, the network will provide funding for the implementation of specific initiatives that will improve access to quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care services and programs for children and families in Francophone minority communities, while helping to build Francophone cultural identity and supporting the French-speaking workforce in the sector. The Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) is receiving $16.3 million to expand and continue the development of initial, continuous and specialized training programs for early childhood educators in Francophone minority communities. The ACUFC will fund initiatives that aim to address challenges facing the early childhood sector, strengthen the skills of early childhood educators and promote the profession while supporting access to high quality child care for children and their families in Francophone minority communities."

Excerpt: "Proposed changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations and Canada Student Loans Regulations, pre-published today in the Canada Gazette, Part I, will allow early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, psychologists, personal support workers and physiotherapists to be eligible for student loan forgiveness. These changes are expected to increase the number of loan forgiveness beneficiaries by about 8,000 starting in 2025–26 and by up to 19,000 in 2034–35. It is estimated that over 10 years, more than 27,000 professionals would be encouraged to move to rural and remote areas due to this benefit."

Excerpt: "The Welcoming a Child Hub offers a personalized checklist and highlights key benefits from the government. This ensures parents can plan Employment Insurance leave, the Canada Child Benefit, Dental Care and may other benefits available to them through the Government of Canada. It also shares relatable stories inspired by real experiences. Similar to the recently launched Retirement Hub and the What to Do When Someone Dies Hub, this initiative demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving services and supporting Canadians through major life events and unique challenges."