Health care facilities, schools and post-secondary institutions across the province will soon open new high-quality and flexible child-care spaces for children up to six years old, thanks to a partnership between the governments of Canada and Manitoba

Earlier this month, the two governments signed the action plan under the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, detailing how Manitoba will invest $20.9 million in federal funding over three years to support the creation of approximately 324 child-care spaces in health care facilities across the province.

Through the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, 256 new child-care spaces will open in six schools, in addition to the 36 new school-based facilities, building additions and renovations previously announced, for a total of over 2,600 new infant and preschool spaces in partnership with 19 school divisions across all regions of Manitoba.

In addition, through the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, 128 new child-care spaces will be created at Red River College Polytechnic and University College of the North’s Thompson campus. These spaces are in addition to those previously announced at nine other post-secondary campuses across the province, for a combined total of over 800 new spaces at Manitoba post-secondary institutions and a total investment of $60.5 million.

Inveastments are also being made in professional training and curriculum:

• The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is receiving funding to continue its programming that educates and helps employ up to 50 Ukrainian newcomers.
• The Urban Circle Training Centre is receiving funding to support programming to train 30 Indigenous students to work in the child-care profession.
• The Outdoor Early Childhood Education Grant is providing funding to child-care facilities to enhance current outdoor and land-based programming or create new nature education programming. Grants are available for licensed non-profit centres and nursery schools of up to $25,000 and licensed home-based providers of up to $2,500.
• Tuition reimbursement is available to all Manitoba students and offers up to $5,000 per school year to help cover out-of-pocket tuition-related costs at recognized early childhood education programs offered at post-secondary institutions in Manitoba. Since 2022, the program has provided more than $6.1 million in tuition reimbursement and since this January, the program has supported more than 510 early childhood education students.

To date, in partnership with the government of Canada, the province has opened more than 4,300 child-care spaces for children up to age six.