Wednesday morning Minister of Education Krista Lynn Howell provided an update on actions underway as a part of the recently announced $347 million in funding, relating to early learning and child care training, staffing and space creation in the province.

Today Minister Howell said the province doesn’t want to disclose how many families are in need of childcare right now in Newfoundland and Labrador, because she said they are hoping the launch of a new child care demand portal will soon give them a clearer picture of the need.

The department will launch a child care demand portal this fall for parents and caregivers. The portal will provide the department with a comprehensive understanding of the demand for child care in all areas of the province.

Other new details were provided today regarding child care access in the province:

• There are almost 8,300 child care spaces operating at $10-a-day or lower the province, of which 820 have been created so far in 2023.

• Eighteen pre-kindergarten sites are now open throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, creating 340 child care spaces. A further 17 sites will open in September, representing total space creation of 600 through this program. 

• In addition to spaces and sites already created, there are 63 child care providers in various stages of the process to open a not-for-profit child care centre in Newfoundland and Labrador, including:
  • 14 sites in development in Central/East region;
  • 24 sites in development in Western/Labrador region; and
  • 25 sites in development in St. John’s metro region.

• This year, over 100 early childhood educators have joined or rejoined the workforce. There are approximately 1,200 early childhood educators working in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

• In addition to the recently created early childhood educator wage grid, a francophone bonus of $5,178 has been created, effective April 1, 2023, for certified francophone early childhood educators working in regulated francophone child care services.