Manitoba Liberals promise all-day kindergarten

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Liberal leader kicked off the election campaign with a promise to bring in all-day kindergarten.

Rana Bokhari says the promise will cost $50 million – a figure that doesn’t include any necessary school expansions or upgrades.

She says the funds will come out of general revenues, but couldn’t be more specific than that.

Bokhari says studies show all-day kindergarten gives kids a leg up when it comes to vocabulary and social skills.

All-day kindergarten in Ontario costs $1.5 billion a year and has required millions in school upgrades.

Internal documents obtained by The Canadian Press in 2014 showed the governing NDP built a file on the idea, but decided to focus on capping class sizes from kindergarten to Grade 3 instead.