Child Care Now welcomes Prime Minister Carney’s appointments 

Child Care Now welcomes the recent appointment of The Honourable Patty Hajdu as Minister of Jobs and Families, Anna Gainey as Secretary of State for Children and Youth, and Leslie Church as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families and to the Secretary of State for Children and Youth.  

“We look forward to working closely with the newly elected Government of Canada to strengthen the CanadaWide Early Learning and Child Care program so that all children and families can have access to affordable high quality programs regardless of where they live, and regardless of their circumstances,” said Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director of Child Care Now, Canada’s national child care advocacy association.

Child Care Now said that giving responsibility for the federal government’s $10aDay child care program to both a Minister and a Secretary of State reflects the importance Prime Minister Carney places on early learning and child care.

“It is heartening to see that the federal government sees building a comprehensive universally accessible system of child care as essential not only to the wellbeing of children and families and to gender equity, but also as a powerful nation-building endeavour that is essential to supporting our country’s economic wellbeing and independence,” said Ballantyne.

Ballantyne said she has already been in touch with Secretary of State Anna Gainey to offer Child Care Now’s assistance as the Government of Canada continues its discussions with the provinces and territories to shape the next five years of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program (CWELCC). 

To date, only the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments, turned down the federal government’s pre-election offer to extend federal funding for transfer funds for CWELCC beyond April 1, 2026. The Ontario government agreed in principle to extend its funding agreement but subsequently the Ontario Minister of Education told parents in a written communication that the federally-funded parent fee reductions now in place could end if the federal government does not agree to different financial terms going forward.

Child Care Now has a campaign underway under the banner “Stand on Guard for Child Care” to mobilize citizen support for the continuation and expansion of the federal $10aDay child care program across Canada. The campaign also puts forward policy proposals to all levels of government for increasing the quality of child care, and for making  access to the program more equitable by increasing the availability of not-for-profit and public child care.