CHARLOTTETOWN, PE - Premier Dennis King along with Natalie Jameson, PC Candidate for District 9 Charlottetown - Hillsborough Park and Minister of Education and Lifelong Learning, announced today that a re-elected PC government will reduce childcare fees to $10 a day for all Island children enrolled in designated Early Years Centres before the end of 2023.
Prince Edward Island was one of the first provinces to sign a bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada to reduce childcare fees to an average of $10 a day by the end of 2024. The PC Party under the leadership of Premier King is committing that a re-elected PC government will expedite that timeline by a full year to help reduce the cost of childcare for Islanders.
In addition to reducing childcare fees to $10 a day by the end of 2023, a re-elected PC government will also:
- Establish a $20 Million Dollar Infrastructure Fund to provide grants to Early Learning Centres to expand and create more spaces;
- Commit to building childcare centres in all new public buildings going forward until wait lists are eliminated;
- Create grants to encourage private developers to build childcare centres into multi-unit buildings in areas of the province where childcare spaces are needed;
- Designate six more early learning centres before the end of 2023;
- Work with the Early Childhood Development Association to launch a national recruitment campaign to recruit trained Early Childhood Educators to live and work in Prince Edward Island; and
- Launch a Pension Plan for Early Childhood Educators before the end of 2023.
“Over the last 18 months we have made tremendous strides in reducing childcare costs for Islanders and expanding our early learning system across the province,” says Premier Dennis King. “A re-elected PC government will reduce fees faster while supporting our existing early learning centres to expand and offer more spaces and continue to work with the Early Childhood Development Association on recruiting Early Childhood Educators to work in our province.”
“Prince Edward Island is a leader in Canada for our robust early childhood education system, and our PC team is committed to continuing to be the envy of the country by reducing fees faster and building more spaces in our system,” says PC Candidate and Minister of Education and Lifelong Learning Natalie Jameson. “I have heard from residents in District 9, and Islanders across the province that access to high quality and affordable childcare is a top priority and I am proud that we are taking the next steps by committing to reduce fees for Islanders.”