Trudeau announces child-care infrastructure funding to create more spaces

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans Wednesday to spend $625 million to help provinces and territories build child-care infrastructure. 

Trudeau said the money will be rolled out over four years to help providers renovate, retrofit and build new not-for-profit and public child-care facilities. 

“We need more child-care spaces so more families can benefit from affordable, high-quality child care,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont. 

The announcement follows through on the early learning and child-care infrastructure fund promised by the Liberal government in the 2022 budget.

It’s meant to complement the national child-care program, which aims to deliver child care for $10 a day, on average, by 2026. 

Parents have already seen fees reduced by an average of at least 50 per cent across the country.

Advocates and experts have raised concerns however, about a lack of spaces to accommodate the growing demand for subsidized child care. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2023. 

The Canadian Press