The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is providing an update on consultations on the Provincial Government’s Operating Grant Program, which is a voluntary program that helps child care services provide affordable child care for families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

As part of the proposed changes to the Operating Grant Program:

• $10-a-day child care will continue into the 2026-27 fiscal year.
• The department is encouraging child care centres to fill as many child care spaces as possible and the department will continue to work with providers over the next six months to increase enrollment.
• Increasing enrollment thresholds will help families access affordable child care services and aligns with the funding practices in most other provinces in Canada.
• Funding will continue to be provided based on enrollment, not attendance.
• The Early Learning Gateway will help providers with a more efficient process to connect families on a wait list with a child care space. This will ultimately help reduce administrative burden. The gateway is more secure than the current paper-based system and has two-factor authentication to protect privacy.

The department is committed to working with all parties through this transition to ensure there are no disruptions. Child care providers with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact the department at elgateway@gov.nl.ca.

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“We value the service child care centres provide to access affordable child care services to families in our province. Our goal is to promote more access to affordable child care spaces for families in Newfoundland and Labrador and we are happy to work with providers over the next few months to address any concerns they may have.”
Honourable Paul Dinn
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development

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