Recent News
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July 28, 2021
Federal-Provincial Action Plan on Early Learning and Child Care Released
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
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July 27, 2021
$10 a day child care for families in Prince Edward Island
Government of Prince Edward Island
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July 23, 2021
Canada and Yukon announce major expansion of $10 a day child care
Government of Yukon
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July 22, 2021
Ontario, not Quebec, holds the model for child care
The Globe and Mail
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July 18, 2021
Why the outdoors should be an integral part of every early learning and child-care program
The Conversation Canada
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July 13, 2021
Federal-Provincial Agreement Will Transform Child Care, Reduce Costs for Families
Government of Nova Scotia
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July 8, 2021
Canada announces historic first early learning and child care agreement
Excerpt: “This agreement will lead to the creation of 30,000 new regulated early learning and child care spaces for children under the age of 6 within five years, and 40,000 spaces within seven years. These spaces will be focused on community investments that are long-term and run by public and non-profit institutions.
The agreement will fund critical services and support early childhood educators, including through the development of a wage grid.”
- Access the full news release HERE
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June 29, 2021
Charitable, academic, and private sector leaders urge Ottawa limit child care funds to non-profit/public providers
Download the letter:
The Federal Budget 2021 provides $30 Billion over 5 years for the building of a “Canada-wide, community-based system of quality child care.” It compares a quality child care system to public schools: “Just as public school provides children with quality education in their neighbourhoods, the government’s goal is to ensure that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early learning and child care no matter where they live.”
Ottawa further commits to working with provinces and territories to build such a system through “primarily not-for-profit sector child care providers … while ensuring that families in all licensed spaces benefit from more affordable child care.”
The federal position is backed by national and international evidence showing that child care systems dominated by not-for-profit and public providers, are more inclusive of low-income families, and deliver higher quality services at lower costs.
Recognizing that much of Canada’s child care services now operate as commercial ventures, the intention is not to abolish for-profit child care, rather to ensure public funds do not support its growth in existing or new programs. Already established for-profit services that meet quality standards, charge government-regulated parent fees, and are financially transparent to ensure accountability for public funds, would receive support.
Non-profit and public providers are the best partners for governments to build a Canada-wide child care system. The sector is able to offer a variety of flexible, high quality early learning and child care choices to all families without compromising program quality, or safety and working conditions. Expanding partnerships with the non-profit/public sectors will have positive cascading effects for children, parents – especially mothers, the early childhood workforce, communities and the broader economy for years to come.
The undersigned recommend:
- Targeting all federal investments for expanding early learning and child care across Canada exclusively to non-profit and public providers.
- Providing federal capital investments for building new early learning and child care spaces and retrofitting existing spaces exclusively to non-profit and public providers.
- Investing in non-profit and public infrastructure to support the effective planning and equitable development of child care services.
Colette Murphy, Executive Director, Atkinson Foundation
Jean-Marc Chouinard, President, Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation
Laura Manning, Executive Director, Lyle S. Hallman Foundation
Marcel Lauzière, President & CEO, Lawson Foundation
Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain, Founder & Chair, Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, Inc.
Neria Aylward, Executive Director, Jimmy Pratt Foundation
Lyn Baptist, Past Chair, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
Gordon Cleveland, Associate Professor Emeritus Economics, University of Toronto
Pierre Fortin, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Université du Québec à Montréal
Christa Japel, Professor in Education and Psychology at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Sarah Kaplan, Distinguished Professor of Gender and the Economy, Professor of Strategic Management, Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Paul Kershaw, University of BC School of Population Health, Human Early Learning Partnership, Director of UBC Masters of Public Health Program, Founder, Generation Squeeze
David Morley, President and CEO, UNICEF Canada
Charles E. Pascal, Professor: OISE/University of Toronto, Former Ontario Deputy Minister of Education, Former Early Learning Advisor to Premier of Ontario
Susan Prentice, Duff Roblin Professor of Government, University of Manitoba
Helen Sinclair, Former President, Canadian Bankers Association
Beverly Topping, Founder, Today’s Parent
Armine Yalnizyan, Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of WorkersFor more information please contact: info@ecdfwg.ca
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June 14, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #14 – June 14, 2021
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June 3, 2021
New Report! Early Childhood Education Report 2020
This is the 4th edition of the Early Childhood Education Report (ECER). Established in 2011, the report is released every three years to evaluate provincial/territorial early years services against a 15-point scale. Results are populated from detailed profiles of each province and territory. The ECER is organized around 5-categories with 21 benchmarks forming a common set of minimum criteria contributing to the delivery of quality programming. This report captures changes to early years services from March 2017 to March 2020, as such it is able to assess the impact of the Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreements and serves as a baseline for the pre-pandemic status of ECE in Canada.
Access the full report HERE
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April 22, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #13 - April 22, 2021
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April 19, 2021
Budget 2021 Statement
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April 12, 2021
Canada’s Leaders Sound the Alarm on the Childcare Crisis
“A diverse group of Canada’s leaders are saying the time has come to view the absence of early childhood education and care as a Canada-wide emergency and are asking the federal government to get on with the business of fixing it.
In an open letter to Minister Freeland, six other federal ministers and Opposition Leaders, signed by public policy and business leaders from across the country, The Prosperity Project is calling for the introduction of a Canada-wide early learning and childcare (ELCC) system to address the needs of working families, citing multiple research studies that show women are exiting the workforce due to the pressures of the pandemic. Joining the Prosperity Project to support this call are Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder, the Hon. Margaret McCain and Children First Canada Founder Sara Austin.
“We are mothers, white women, black women, women of colour and Indigenous women. As female leaders, we are taking action because the hardships of the crisis have been unevenly shared. In the world of work, we are witnessing significant negative consequences for women as they drop from the path to prosperity while it becomes apparent that others will never get the opportunity to participate in the first place,” said Pamela Jeffery, founder of The Prosperity Project, a not-for-profit organization created to ensure Canadian women are not left behind in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
The Prosperity Project is supporting a new ELCC platform for children and families across the country that is anchored by:
- Shared guiding principles affirmed in all jurisdictions focused on issues of quality, accessibility and affordability;
- Long-term, stable, national funding made available to “fund the services” including the training, recruitment and retention of well-paid and professional staff to help create attractive career prospects for early childhood educators-a predominantly female labour force;
- Ongoing benchmarking, assessment and planning to monitor outcomes across ELCC programs and ensure adherence to the guiding principles; and
- Equitable access to high quality and culturally appropriate ELCC for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who often do not meet the minimum indices of social determinants of health.
Access the Open Letter:
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April 7, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #12 - April 7, 2021
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March 29, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #11 - March 29, 2021
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March 26, 2021
Early Learning and Childcare as Key Economic Infrastructure
Deloitte Canada
Investments in early childhood education and childcare (“ELCC”) can help put Canada on a higher trend economic growth path. A high-quality ELCC program that young children can attend for several years, where education is provided using a curriculum-based program delivered by trained educators can provide several benefits including:
- Benefits to Children: Investments can have positive impacts on the outcomes for children, including better behavioural/social skills, better mental and physical health, and better long-term labour market outcomes.
- Increase in the Labourforce Participation for Women: Expanding early childhood education can have a positive economic impact through a resulting boost in the labour participation of women.
- Benefits to Parents: Beyond increasing workforce participation for women, ELCC can help reduce parental stress, which benefits their mental health and in turn benefits their children, work performance, and standard of living.
- Promotion of Equality: There is also evidence that investments in ELCC disproportionately benefit lower income Canadians and this can help address socioeconomic challenges, such as income inequality.
- Decreased Reliance of Special Needs Education: There is evidence of the sustained impact of ELCC on reducing the need for special education in the US, the UK, Canada, and other advanced economies.
These gains create additional income that provide tax revenues to governments and reduce the demand for government transfers and other support programs. The purpose of this report is to highlight the literature on early childhood education (“ECE”) to demonstrate why further investments are necessary and how we can achieve a preferably universal system of early learning and childcare that will benefits our economy and society.
Access the Executive Summary:
Access the Full Report:
Access the March 26, 2021 Future of Canada Conversations – Are we on the right track for Canada to thrive? webinar featuring Craig Alexander, Chief Economist and Executive Advisor, Deloitte Canada, Georgina Black, Managing Partner, Government, Public Services, and Health Care, Deloitte Canada, and the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain.
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March 15, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #10 - March 15, 2021
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March 3, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #9 - March 3, 2021
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February 16, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #8 - February 16, 2021
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February 10, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #7 - February 10, 2021
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January 28, 2021
Early Years Study Newsletter #6 - January 28, 2021
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November 17, 2020
Early Years Study Newsletter #5 - November 17, 2020
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November 15, 2020
Canada needs a bold pro-growth strategy for both pandemic recovery and a successful future
The Globe and Mail
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September 21, 2020
Early Years Study Newsletter #4 - September 21, 2020
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September 15, 2020
Why Early Childhood Education should be in the Throne Speech
Craig Alexander, Partner & Chief Economist at Deloitte Canada via LinkedIn
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September 14, 2020
Furey’s commitment to $25-a-day child care is wise public policy
The Telegram
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August 24, 2020
Early Years Study Newsletter #3 - August 24, 2020
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June 23, 2020
Early Years Study Newsletter #2 - June 23, 2020
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June 14, 2020
A strong child-care system is essential to our recovery from the pandemic
The Globe and Mail
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May 27, 2020
Early Years Study Newsletter #1
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March 11, 2020
Investing in Early Childhood Education
The Agenda with Steve Paikin
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March 5, 2020
Invest in early childhood education or Canada will fall behind
Toronto Star
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March 2, 2020
The Honourable Mrs. Margaret McCain – The Early Years Study 4
In Conversation with Stephen Hurley
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February 29, 2020
Canada Lags in Early Childhood Education
CTV News
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February 22, 2020
New Study Calls for Increased Federal Funding for Early Childhood Education
VOCM Local News Now
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February 25, 2020
Canada’s low ranking for enrolment in early childhood education sparks concern for Lethbridge educators
Global News
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February 20, 2020
Why Canada needs to spend more on early childhood education
BNN Bloomberg
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February 20, 2020
New Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation Report Calls on Federal Government to Make Significant Investment in Early Childhood Education Funding
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February 19, 2020
Canada should spend more on early childhood education, new report says
The Globe and Mail
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December 1, 2019
On the Path to High Quality School-Age Child Care
Learn: The Newsletter of BC Education
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August 22, 2019
Early Childhood Educators Connect
Northern News Services
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November 17, 2019
Children learn through play – it shouldn’t stop at preschool
The Conversation Canada
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October 16, 2019
P.E.I. aims for 2020 rollout of public pre-kindergarten program
CBC News
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June 24, 2019
Canadian Mothercraft Society hosts expert panel and presents Bill Bosworth Memorial Award
On Monday June 24th, Canadian Mothercraft Society hosted the business community and experts in child development for a focused discussion about why early childhood matters.
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June 17, 2019
Margaret McCain awarded honorary doctorate in psychology from Université Laval
Université Laval
In recognition of her significant contributions to developmental psychology, Université Laval has awarded the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain with an honorary doctorate in psychology.
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May 16, 2019
Ontario’s child care cuts will hurt low-income parents working or studying full-time
Linda White, Elizabeth Dhuey, Michal Perlman, and Petr Varmuza
The Conversation Canada
Reprinted in the National Post, May 17, 2019 -
April 29, 2019
Nova Scotia’s new pre-primary class gives kids a head start through play-based learning
Jessie Lee-McIssac and Joan Turner, Mount Saint Vincent University
The Conversation Canada
Reprinted in Halifax Chronicle Herald, April 30, 2019 -
March 18, 2019
I am an 'autism mom'. Here’s why Ontario is choosing the wrong path
Kimberley Maich, Memorial University Newfoundland
The Conversation Canada -
March 4, 2019
New research shows quality early childhood education reduces need for later special education
By David Philpott et al Memorial University Newfoundland
The Conversation Canada -
February 10, 2019
Full-day kindergarten is what Ontario needs for a stable future
By Kerry McCuaig, Atkinson Centre, OISE, University of Toronto
The Conversation Canada