Results

The Early Childhood Education Report 2014 is a blunt instrument. It is able to track trends, but not the advocacy, consultations, drafting, redrafting, debates, compromises and hard choices that go into the creation of public policy. Behind every score on every benchmark is the incredible work carried out daily by parents, educators, administrators, officials and decision-makers who create the environments where young children learn and grow.

Available, affordable, top-quality and voluntary preschool education for all Canada’s children is an ambitious, promising and fundamentally progressive goal. It is also realistic. By broadening education’s mandate to include younger children, we can bridge the gap between parental leave and formal schooling. By including the option of extended-day activities for families who request it, Canada can have its long-demanded early learning and care program.

Figure 6.2

Figure 6.3