Every child in Canada would be able to access high quality early-learning and child care services within 10 years

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Alternative Federal Budget 2019, No Time to Lose, proposed a revised approach to Canada’s early learning and child care (ELCC), including increased federal government spending to establish universal, comprehensive, publicly funded and publicly managed child care systems in every province, territory and Indigenous community.

The alternate plan would give every child in Canada access high quality ELCC services within ten years, regardless of where they live, their family income or other circumstances — if the family wants such services.

The Alternative budget proposes that in 2019-20:

• the government transfer $1 billion to provinces, territories and Indigenous communities for the purpose of beginning to build accessible, affordable, high quality, inclusive ELCC systems. Funding for Indigenous communities will support the implementation of the Indigenous-led ELCC Framework.
• The government increase Canada’s ELCC budget each year until it reaches at least 1% of GDP—the international benchmark for government spending on child care and early learning — by the 2029-30 fiscal year.

Read more details from the Alternative Federal Budget 2019.