Nova Scotia to meet 2026 targets for daycare under federal funding deal: officials

Nova Scotia Education Department officials say the province is on track to meet a target of 9,500 new daycare spaces by March 2026 under an agreement with the federal government.

Nova Scotia is on track to create 9,500 new daycare spaces by March 2026 under an agreement with the federal government, Education Department officials told a legislature committee Wednesday.

However, the officials wouldn't say whether that target would be enough to meet the needs of the province's growing population.

Deputy minister Elwin LeRoux told the standing committee on public accounts the $605-million daycare agreement was based on the province's population when the deal was signed in July 2021.

With the government's plans to double the province's population to two million people by 2060, LeRoux said the department knows it needs to do more to meet demand.

Between Oct. 1, 2022, and Oct. 1, 2023, Nova Scotia's population increased by 30,750 people, or almost three per cent -- the third fastest year-over-year growth since 1951.

"We believe we would need to continue growing our child care sector to meet the growth of our population as we would in most government agencies and social institutions," LeRoux said following persistent questioning on the issue by Liberal committee member Brendan Maguire.

Macguire also pointed out that just over 1,000 spaces have been lost in recent years due to the closures of some private sector daycares.