UPDATED: N.B., Ottawa Sign $544M Child-Care Deal

New Brunswick has become one of the last provinces and territories to sign a child-care deal with Ottawa.

Officials say child care fees will be cut in half by this time next year and to an average of $10 a day by 2026.

“Families in places like Moncton and Fredericton will save around $7,500 a year on average,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when unveiling the details from Ottawa on Monday morning.

Other provinces and territories across the country have already inked child-care deals with Ottawa, including Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who joined the announcement virtually from Fredericton, said the agreement will see about 5,700 new child-care spaces added throughout the province.

“While negotiating the terms of this agreement, we made sure to take the time to fully understand it and any impacts and implications it might have on our early learning child-care sector and that under this agreement both not-for-profit and hybrid sectors would have the opportunity to grow,” said Higgs.

A “wage grid” will be introduced for early childhood educators, whose wages will increase by nearly 25 per cent to $23.47 per hour over the next five years, according to the province.

The funding agreement will also boost the number of trained educators in the province, but officials did not provide any hard numbers.

“Bottom line is we’re going to make life more affordable, we’re going to grow the economy by allowing more parents, particularly moms, to rejoin the workforce, and we’re going to give kids the best possible start as they begin their schooling,” said Trudeau.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy described Monday’s announcement as “an unmitigated good news story for the kids of New Brunswick and for Canadians.”

“We spent, here in New Brunswick, years expanding the early learning and child-care sector that provides families with access to quality, affordable and inclusive early childhood education. This program, this accord, is going to build on those successes,” said Cardy.

Cardy said the province will work with operators and educators in order to improve recruitment and retention in the early childhood sector.

Ottawa is contributing $491 million over five years while the province is kicking in the remaining $53 million.

Trudeau has promised to spend $30 billion over five years to cut child-care fees to an average of $10 a day across the country.