More Child-Care Spaces for Cape Breton

Families in Cape Breton Regional Municipality are getting more access to child care with the addition of up to 49 spaces in Glace Bay.

New Dawn Enterprises, a non-profit community organization, received funding to create the spaces, which will be located in its Glace Bay Youth and Family Centre.

“We know that in some communities, access to child care is limited,” said John White, MLA for Glace Bay-Dominion, on behalf of Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “Expanding child care helps parents to remain in the workforce so they can support their families and contribute to economic growth.”

New Dawn, which received $1.35 million, offers programs and services that focus on supporting low-income youth and families in Cape Breton. The investment is part of the Canada–Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

Quotes:

“These new child-care spots in Cape Breton will make life easier and more affordable for parents in the Glace Bay community. We keep working with Nova Scotia to make sure every family who wants and needs a spot, gets one close to home.”
— Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“We are thrilled to be adding 49 child-care spaces to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Our aim is to help as many families as we can with access to child care in a diverse, inclusive centre, where all are welcome. We will strive to provide an enriching, natural environment with well-trained, empathetic early childhood educators that will give the children in our care self-reliance and a positive sense of self.”
— Alyce MacLean, Director of Properties and Development, New Dawn Enterprises

Quick Facts:

• the project is expected to be complete by March 2026
• since 2021, more than 6,500 new child-care spaces have been created across the province
• since 2021, through provincial and federal investments in child care, Nova Scotia families are paying an average of 50 per cent less in daily child-care fees, saving them thousands of dollars each year
• as part of the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026, the Government of Canada is contributing $605 million over five years to help improve regulated early learning and child care for children under the age of six in the province
• that federal contribution is in addition to more than $69 million announced through the Canada–Nova Scotia ELCC Extension Agreement – 2021 to 2025, which includes about $10.9 million through a one-time investment in 2021-2022 to support the early childhood workforce and $19.8 million over four years, with about $13.8 million from 2023-2024 through 2025-2026, under the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund

Additional Resources:

More information about child care in Nova Scotia is available at: https://childcarenovascotia.ca