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Nova Scotia’s Approach to Early Learning and Child Care

Building a system that is affordable, available, inclusive, and high quality—for families now and into the future

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 Nova Scotia is building an early learning and child care system that supports families, strengthens communities, and gives children the best possible start in life.

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 Our focus is on ensuring child care is accessible, affordable, inclusive, and delivered by well‑supported professionals across the province. 

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

  This work is guided by collaboration with families, child care providers, communities, and our federal partners.

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 Through ongoing provincial investment and federal‑provincial agreements, Nova Scotia continues to transform child care into a stable, high‑quality public system.

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 A new federal agreement and provincial Child Care Action Plan will build on this progress and outline near‑term actions that support a longer‑term transformation of early learning and child care.

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 These actions align with the 2026–2029 ELCC System Transformation Strategic Plan, which sets the direction for building a system that is affordable, accessible, inclusive, high‑quality, and sustainable.

How We’re Strengthening the Child Care System

 Together, the Action Plan and the Strategic Plan guide how we strengthen the system today while building the foundations for the future.

Our Focus Areas

Families

 Why This Matters

Stability families can plan on

This work supports a child care system that is predictable, fair, and sustainable—so families can plan with confidence and providers can focus on delivering quality care.

Nova Scotia is moving beyond one‑time fee reductions toward a stable, predictable approach to child care affordability. 

The focus now is on strengthening funding models so families can count on lower fees over time, and providers have the stability they need to deliver quality care. 

We have reduced fees by an average of 50% for licensed child care, which, when combined with the Child Care Subsidy Program for lower income families, means nearly 40% of our subsidy families pay 0$ and 90% pay $10 or below. 

How we’re moving forward 

Over the coming years, affordability work will: 

  • Embed parent fee reductions into long‑term funding structures 
  • Better align child care subsidies with reduced fees 
  • Ensure funding reflects the real cost of delivering care, including infant care 
  • Improve clarity and consistency for families and providers across the province

This approach helps create an early learning and child care system that is both affordable for families and sustainable for the future.

Operators

 Why This Matters

Access that works in real life

Families need child care that fits their schedules and their communities. Planning spaces carefully helps ensure growth is meaningful, sustainable, and responsive to local needs.

Growing the number of child care spaces is only part of building access. 

Nova Scotia is strengthening how child care is planned, expanded, and supported so families can find care where it’s needed most.

How we’re moving forward 

Looking ahead, work will focus on: 

  • Planning new spaces based on community need, population trends, and workforce capacity 
  • Supporting a mix of centre‑based care, family home child care, and school‑age programs 
  • Improving transparency and navigation so families can more easily understand their options 
  • Aligning expansion with workforce availability and local infrastructure 

This system‑wide approach is designed to make access to child care more consistent and equitable across the province and is guided by community need and developed in partnership with providers, school boards, municipalities, and community organizations. 

By March of 2026, Nova Scotia has added more than 9,676* child care spaces: 

  • 2,607 in Licensed child care centres 
  • 2,584 in Licensed Family Homes 
  • 4,485 in Nove Scotia Before-and-After Program (NS BAP) 

*Total since signing the Canada-Wide ELCC Agreement in July 2021.

Drawing of families

 Why This Matters

Every child deserves to belong

Inclusive child care supports children’s development, family well‑being, and stronger communities—while ensuring the system works for all families, not just some.

Inclusion is a core part of Nova Scotia’s early learning and child care system.

Going forward, the focus is on embedding inclusion across all parts of the system, rather than treating it as a separate program.

How we’re moving forward 

Future work will: 

  • Strengthen supports for children with diverse abilities and needs • Align funding, workforce supports, and programming to better serve all children 
  • Advance culturally responsive approaches in partnership with communities 
  • Improve coordination between child care, early intervention, and family supports 

By building inclusion into how the system operates, Nova Scotia is working toward child care where every child belongs and can participate fully.

Educators

 Why This Matters

Quality starts with people

When educators are supported and valued, children benefit from consistent, high‑quality learning environments—and families benefit from reliable care.

High‑quality child care depends on skilled, supported early childhood educators (ECEs).

Nova Scotia is continuing to build a strong, stable workforce by aligning compensation, professional development, and career pathways with the needs of a growing system. 

ECEs working in licensed child care centres and agencies are paid on a provincially funded wage scale and have access to defined benefit pension plans and group benefits plans.

How we’re moving forward 

In the years ahead, workforce efforts will: 

  • Supporting fair and competitive compensation for ECEs 
  • Support clear career pathways and professional growth 
  • Align workforce supports with quality and inclusion expectations 
  • Build a workforce that reflects the diverse communities it serves

 A stable and supported workforce is essential to sustaining access, quality, and inclusion across the child care system.

Looking Ahead

These focus areas are part of a multi‑year approach to strengthening early learning and child care in Nova Scotia—balancing progress today with the changes needed for long‑term stability and sustainability. 

The 2026-2031 federal agreement and provincial Child Care Action Plan will outline future priorities, investments, and targets. 

Until then, this overview reflects the principles and direction guiding current work to strengthen early learning and child care across the province.