Achi news desk-
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will extend student loan forgiveness and further training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
The prime minister unveiled a trio of childcare-centric commitments that will be included in the upcoming federal budget, aimed at opening more $10-a-day childcare spaces across the country, as the Liberals continue to work towards that. create 250,000 new places by March 2026.
Specifically, the Liberals promise to offer $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in non-repayable grants to public and nonprofit child care providers, so they can build or renovate their care centers.
An additional $48 million is earmarked over the next four years to extend student loan forgiveness — similar to the program offered to rural doctors and nurses — to early childhood educators, in an effort to encourage more teachers to work in communities less.
The federal government is also pledging $10 million over the next two years to train more early childhood educators.
The prime minister, speaking in Surrey, BC, pointed to the bilateral child care agreements that are in effect across the country that see thousands of children placed in affordable places. However, in recent months Canadian parents and care providers have sounded the alarm about increasingly long daycare waiting lists.
Liberal pre-budget strategy
Similar to how Wednesday’s presentation of renter-focused pre-budget news went, cabinet ministers will make echo announcements of the new nationwide childcare affordability measures this afternoon.
This is all part of a new communication strategy that the Liberals are using in the run up to the release of the federal budget on April 16.
Practically every day between now and when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland release the massive economic document, the Liberals are expected to tease bits and pieces of the budget.
In an effort to extend their ability to market the measures in it, Trudeau as well as members of his cabinet will unveil new initiatives over the next two weeks, to the point that the vast majority of the budget will be public before budget day. .
Traditionally, governments have held budget news — with the exception of some pre-submission leaks — for the day the document is presented in the House of Commons after locking up reporters and stakeholders for a day.
Kicking off this strategy on Wednesday, Trudeau published a video across social media platforms stating that the overarching theme of the 2024 budget will be “generational equity,” a message meant to speak to millennials and Generation Z.
“When I first decided to run for office, one of my biggest motivations was to work to create a Canada that young people saw themselves in… As prime minister, I’ve never lost sight of that,” Trudeau said in the clip.
“You as young Canadians are the heartbeat of our economy. You power our growth and you deserve an economy that gives you a fair shot at success. But, this moment we all live in throws big challenges your way… So we’re going to roll up our sleeves and work like hell. And we’re going to tell you what we’re doing to fix it, over the next two weeks.”
While Trudeau’s victory in the 2015 election was partly credited to a historic surge in youth turnout, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been chipping away at that Liberal voting bloc of 43-year-olds and younger, trying to appeal to their current struggles. to press ahead with his “powerful pay cheques” and housing affordability arguments.
In November 2023, Trudeau tapped Max Valiquette, a marketing guru with a self-described expertise in understanding younger generations, as his new executive director of communications.
With files from CTV News’ Vassy Kapelos and Annie Bergeron-Oliver
