Thousands of child-care spaces being added in New Brunswick

The coat rack at a daycare centre, pictured in Langley, B.C., on May 29, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

New Brunswick is adding thousands of designated preschool child-care spaces in areas of the province with the greatest need.

The provincial government had already committed to creating 3,400 new designated preschool early learning and child-care spaces by March 2026. That target has now increased by 200, bringing the new total to 3,600.

“Increasing access to child care is a top priority for our province, given our growing population and the desire for new parents to return to the workforce,” said Claire Johnson, minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

“We are excited that more families will have access to affordable, high-quality child-care spaces, and are thankful to our operators for their hard work and commitment to make these spaces available.”

Of the new spaces, 2,031 are now open and 1,569 will be opened by March 31, 2026, according to a news release from the province.

Between September 2021 and March 2023, the province says 791 new designated child-care spaces were created.

“Through a call for proposals in January 2023, and another in December 2023, an additional 2,809 spaces were allocated,” reads the news release.

“Of those, 2,609 were funded by the federal government and the remaining 200 were funded provincially.”

A list of where the 2,809 spaces have been allocated is available online.

“This is going to be a game changer for so many families in New Brunswick who will now save thousands of dollars on child care,” said federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds.

“We’ll keep working together to create more child-care spots quickly and closer to home so more parents can get off waitlists.”

The province encourages parents to register their child-care needs with Child Care Connect NB to help determine where more spaces are needed.

“In addition to creating more child-care spaces, we know we also need to retain and attract more early childhood educators to keep up with the growing demand,” said Johnson.

The provincial government says it has several initiatives underway to support retention, recruitment and recognition of early childhood educators, including:

• tuition reimbursement for administrators and educators pursuing their college certificate and diploma in early childhood education
• a micro-credentialling program designed in collaboration with the New Brunswick Community College and the Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick for qualifying early childhood educators
• an annual review of the early childhood educators wage grid

Wage increases have been implemented for early childhood educators in designated child-care facilities since the start of the Canada-wide agreement.

“As our province continues to grow, we remain committed to increasing access to affordable, quality and inclusive early learning and child care for New Brunswickers,” said Johnson.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.