New child care spaces stagnant under Houston government

HALIFAX – Families are struggling to find affordable child care and new numbers released to the NSNDP Caucus through a Freedom of Information request show that so far this year HRM lost more child care spaces than were created. Only 14 net new spaces were opened province-wide since the start of 2023.

“Families continue to struggle to find affordable child care options which makes it harder for parents, especially mothers, to return to work,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Parents need to know there will be care for their children when they need it. Right now we are hearing far too often about parents finding out on very short notice that their child care provider is closing and waitlists for alternatives can be up to a year. For a province with a growing population, this is a serious issue that Premier Houston must address.”

Only 28 new childcare spaces in centres and family home providers have been created province-wide in the two years the Houston government has been in power. In that same time period HRM lost 144 spots.

“The Houston government’s choices have led to less than 30 net new child care spaces being created since they’ve been in power. This is not okay,” said Suzy Hansen, NDP Education and Early Childhood and Development spokesperson. “We need to support and champion the child care sector to ensure families have the care they need for their children, when and where they need it. The lack of help for families from the Houston government is unacceptable.”

Fewer than 100 new before and after-school program spaces were created this year, none of which were in the Northern or Central zones. In Nova Scotia, nearly half of all younger children live in areas considered “child care deserts”, meaning there are spaces for fewer than one-third of children in that area.

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