Child care advocates demand action and transparency from Saskatchewan government

On January 28 2026, Child Care Now Saskatchewan participated in a media conference hosted by the Saskatchewan NDP, calling on the Saskatchewan government to commit to meeting its child care expansion goals and to release the details of their recently signed federal-provincial agreement.

Saskatchewan has fallen drastically short of their expansion goals according to new data in a recently released report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Of the 28,100 child care spaces committed to in the 2021-2026 Child Care Agreement, a net increase of only  6,915 spaces have been licensed. Saskatchewan has the second most acute need for child care in Canada,  with 42 percent of children in Saskatchewan living in a “child-care desert” – areas where there are fewer than three spaces available per 10 children. 

Although Saskatchewan signed a new agreement with the federal government in December 2025, the agreement itself has yet to be released publicly. 

“We know that child care in Saskatchewan has been inaccessible for years.” said Cara Werner, of Child Care Now Saskatchewan during the media conference. “The Minister recently signed a new agreement but has yet to release the details. If the Minister really stood behind accessible and affordable childcare, why is he afraid to release any information?”