The Government of Canada and Saskatchewan have announced that parent fees for regulated child care in the province are set to be reduced to $10 a day starting on April 1 of this year.
The Land of the Living Skies becomes one of the first Canadian provinces to achieve the milestone of joining Nunavut and Manitoba.
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said the announcement is a huge achievement for the province.
“By working together, Canada and Saskatchewan have achieved our shared goal of affordable child care three years ahead of schedule,” she said. “We are continuing to focus on achieving other important targets through the Canada-wide system, such as space creation and support to early childhood educators, to ensure that every family has access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care.”
The announcement comes three years ahead of schedule as outlined in the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to bring down child care fees to $10 per day by 2025-26.
Parents whose children are under the age of six and attend regulated child care on a full-time basis can expect to pay $217.50 per month.
The fee reductions will result in families saving an average of $395 to $573 per month for each child under six from the average comparable fees as of March 31, 2021.
Education Minister Dustin Duncan said the announcement continues the Government’s investment into childcare.
“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to investing in affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care that provides children with a positive start in life while also giving parents the flexibility and choice to build both a family and career.”
This is the third fee reduction since signing the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in August 2021.
The agreement includes a federal investment of nearly $1.1 billion over five years for regulated early learning and childcare programs and services for children under six in Saskatchewan.
There are 19,790 regulated child-care spaces operational in Saskatchewan across 144 communities as of December 31, 2022. The province, in partnership with the federal government, currently has the goal to expand that number to 28,000 new regulated early learning and child-care spaces.
Through the agreement, the governments are also providing free training and education funding to increase the number of early childhood educators, wage enhancements of up to $5.00 per hour, and a range of grants for regulated childcare facilities.
