The Manitoba government is increasing wages for early childhood educators (ECE), with funding from the Canada-Manitoba Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. The increase will be applied to all ECEs and is the biggest increase in Manitoba history, federal Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu and Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt announced on May 23.
"In order to provide families in Canada with high-quality, affordable child care, we need to support the early childhood education workforce with better compensation," said Hajdu. "Development that happens in early childhood plays a big role in future learning, so it's important to keep highly trained, qualified people in this field and also attract future educators who want to build safe and inclusive spaces where all children are welcomed, accepted, and nurtured."
The wage grid sets target wages for various positions within the early learning and child-care sector. This year's wage grid focuses on frontline early childhood educators wages, for an increase of up to $5 an hour depending on certification level and the size of the child-care centre.
The new wage grid will take effect retroactively to April 1.
"Early childhood educators are the foundation of a humming and productive economy," said Schmidt. "Because of their work, parents across Manitoba can go to school or build careers that power our province. They are more than child minders, they are shaping our kids' early development foundations, so they can go on to be happy, healthy and fulfilled Manitobans. With this historic wage increase we are valuing the role ECEs play in our province. We are investing in Manitoba's future."
"Our government understands the importance of a strong child-care sector here in Manitoba and the many connections it has strengthening our economy right across our great province," added Schmidt. "Whether it is here in Winnipeg, rural or northern Manitoba, our government is investing in the child care Manitoba families rely on. Investing in wages is essential to our recruitment and retention strategy as we continue to expand and build new child-care facilities in our province."
The governments of Canada and Manitoba will also provide an additional $60.4 million ($56.2 million from the federal government, $4.2 million from the provincial government) to licensed and funded child-care facilities through the wage grid operating supplement to support the wage increase for both ECEs and child-care assistants. This funding, along with a two per cent increase to base operating grants for a total of $4.55 million for all licensed and provincially funded early learning and child-care facilities, will be also provided retroactively to April 1.
"This is a both a historic and monumental day for ECEs across the province," said Jodie Kehl, executive director, Manitoba Child Care Association. "ECEs are the essential foundation on which we will develop a high quality ELCC system for Manitoba children and families. Today's announcement and funding of the provincial wage grid and benefits addresses a long-advocated-for action and solution. The work and co-operation between the federal government and the province of Manitoba has made this a reality."
"We are committed to developing an early learning and child-care workforce recruitment and retention strategy to recognize and support the work of child-care professionals," said Schmidt. "These historic increases to wages are a major pillar of that strategy."
Signed in August 2021, the five-year Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement is directed at building a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system. Manitoba will receive approximately $1.2 billion in federal funding over five years to reduce the average out-of-pocket parent fees for licensed child care to $10-a-day and to expand access to more high-quality, inclusive child-care spaces for children under the age of seven. In February, Canada and Manitoba signed extensions to their early learning and child-care agreements providing Manitoba with $1.9 billion in additional funding to 2031.
For more information on the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, visit www.manitoba.ca/education/childcare/actionplan.html and www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories/manitoba-canada-wide-2021.html.
The new wage grid is available at: https://gov.mb.ca/education/childcare/students_workforce/wage_grid.html.
