A total of 447 child care centre spaces have been allocated to various locations across the province by the government of Saskatchewan.
Wednesday’s announcement is part of the Canada-Saskatchewan Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which will provide spaces to Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Beauval, and Vonda.
The agreement, which was a signed earlier in the year, provides close to $41 million over three years. This includes the development of 1,015 licensed child care centre spaces and 1,500 licensed group and family child care home spaces.
Of those spaces, nearly 600 of them were allocated earlier this spring.
“We are very pleased child care supports will be more accessible to communities across the province,” deputy premier and Minister of Education Gordon Wyant said.
“This investment provides more child care options to accommodate the diverse needs of Saskatchewan families.”
“Access to quality and affordable early learning and child care for Saskatchewan families will give children a real chance to succeed in life,” federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos said.
“Today’s announcement is an important part of our commitment to supporting middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it and ensuring Canadian children get the best possible start in life.”
The government of Saskatchewan says they are committed to improving access to the quality of early learning and child care opportunities supporting development, literacy and student achievement.
“Every child deserves quality early learning and care. The Government of Canada is proud to work together with Saskatchewan to expand its system, removing barriers to families in accessing affordable, high quality and inclusive early learning and child care,” Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale said.
“I’m glad to see our recent $41 million federal investment in Saskatchewan will allow more kids to benefit from learning and child care services in a stimulating environment. This will help ensure they get the best possible start in life.”
Nearly 7,000 spaces, since 2007, have been provided with funding for a total of more than 17,000 licensed child care spaces in Saskatchewan.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers.