(file photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

students, staff and faculty to benefit

Sask. Poly campuses, Northlands College to get more child care spaces; NDP highlights ‘child care desert’

Aug 27, 2025 | 12:13 PM

The provincial and federal governments will provide $10.8 million to create 540 child care spaces at Saskatchewan Polytechnic campuses.

Campuses located in Regina, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, and Saskatoon will benefit. Northlands College in La Ronge will also receive 90 additional spaces.

Thirty per cent of the spaces will be designated for families facing barriers to access, including children with disabilities. Students, faculty, and staff members will benefit from using the space, but the sites will also be used for students pursuing early childhood education careers. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, up to $18.5 million is being allocated to tuition-free ECE training seats, practicum enhancement opportunities and the delivery of over 3,000 micro-credential programs.

“This initiative will increase child care in these communities and support early learning and child care students through work-integrated learning opportunities,” Saskatchewan Education Minister Everette Hindley said in a media release. “These early learning and child care centres will service children, students, faculty, and the broader community supporting our commitment to making Saskatchewan the best place to work, live and raise a family.”

Canada’s Secretary of State for Children and Youth Anna Gainey said the spaces will help families get ahead.

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“When early childhood education spaces are available for fees Canadians can actually afford, it supports families’ financial security and lets parents build their careers in a growing workforce.”

Since the launch of the Canada-Saskatchewan partnership of the Canada-Wide ELCC Agreement signed in 2021, the province said it has seen more than 23,000 early learning and child care spaces that are either operational or in development. It has a goal to reach 28,000 additional licensed child care spaces by March 2026.

Childcare Desert

The opposition party is highlighting different numbers when it comes to child care in Saskatchewan.

The NDP said 51 per cent of Saskatchewan children live in what the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) called a childcare desert – a region where there are fewer than three childcare spaces for every ten children. A new report by CCPA also said Saskatchewan ranks dead last among Canadian provinces for available childcare spaces.

“The Sask. Party deserves a big F for failing the people of Saskatchewan on this important issue,” said Joan Pratchler, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Learning.

“First, they failed to get a new deal, and now they’re failing to open up enough childcare spaces. I know of a lot of angry moms and dads that would like to give Minister Hindley a firm talking-to.”

In an additional supplementary report on the state of childcare in Saskatchewan released late yesterday, the CCPA says that “Saskatchewan is far behind when it comes to childcare availability,” promising to create 22,767 new childcare spaces by 2024-2025 but only delivering on 5,648.

“Moms and dads can’t go to work in the hospital or out in the field if there’s no one there to watch the kids,” said Pratchler. “We can’t have a bright future and a strong economy in our province if we don’t have childcare.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com