New 104-space daycare to be built at Cape Breton University

A child-care centre with a capacity of 104 will be built at Cape Breton University.

A new child-care centre with 104 spaces is coming to Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S.

The Nova Scotia government announced the new centre, which is a partnership between the province and the university, Friday morning.

The facility will be built on the CBU campus, behind the new medical school, which is set to open in the fall.

The centre will offer spots and programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

The current campus daycare has 35 spaces.

“When you can get a lift from 35 to 104 spaces, whether it be for faculty kids, staff kids, or students and their kids, it’s an enormous impact on our community and on the university,” said David Dingwall, the president and vice-chancellor of CBU, at Friday’s announcement.

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Dingwall said five or six additional early child-care providers, along with staff for food and recreational services, will likely be hired.

A timeline has not yet been set for the project. In an email to CTV News, the province says it is working with the Department of Public Works and CBU to open the centre “as soon as possible.”

A confirmed timeline and project cost is expected once a contractor is selected for the site. The province says the procurement process is currently underway.

CBU will own the building and operate the centre after it’s built.

The province says the project is part of its efforts to expand access to child care, supported through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

“We’re improving access to child care, which means families will have the support they need close to home and work,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Brendan Maguire.

The news comes after the province announced last week it would be opening a 104-space daycare on the St. Francis Xavier University campus in Antigonish.

Nova Scotia has signed a five-year extension to the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, worth more than $1 billion total.

The province says the extended agreements will be in place until March 31, 2031.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page