Grant and contribution program
Payments to provinces and territories for the purpose of Early Learning and Child Care
Department of Employment and Social Development · Children, families and child care
In fiscal year 2024–25, Department of Employment and Social Development paid out $7.2 billion under Payments to provinces and territories for the purpose of Early Learning and Child Care, up from $6.2 billion in 2023–24. That is $241 per tax filer.
Headline figures
Fiscal year 2024–25
$7.2B
Up $1.0B from $6.2B in 2023–24.
Per tax filer uses 29,965,100 tax filers (2023, the latest count published); per person uses a population of 41,162,593 (2024). An allocation of cost, not a tax bill.
Show these figures as a table
| Fiscal year | Spending |
|---|---|
| 2023–24 | $6.2B |
| 2024–25 | $7.2B |
Largest recipients
The largest named recipients of payments reported under this program in 2024–25. Location is the recipient's address, which is not always where the money is spent. Recipient payments can differ slightly from the program total above because the Public Accounts report them separately.
| Recipient | Location | Paid | Per tax filer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government of Ontario | Toronto, Ontario | $2.7B | $90.23 |
| Government of Québec | Québec, Quebec | $1.6B | $52.96 |
| Government of Alberta | Edmonton, Alberta | $985M | $32.87 |
| Government of British Columbia | Victoria, British Columbia | $870M | $29.02 |
| Government of Manitoba | Winnipeg, Manitoba | $309M | $10.32 |
| Government of Saskatchewan | Regina, Saskatchewan | $268M | $8.95 |
| Government of Nova Scotia | Halifax, Nova Scotia | $173M | $5.76 |
| Government of New Brunswick | Fredericton, New Brunswick | $144M | $4.79 |
| Government of Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | $83.7M | $2.79 |
| Government of Prince Edward Island | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | $34.5M | $1.15 |
Source and basis
- Detailed information on Transfer Payments, as per the Public Accounts of Canada, retrieved 2026-11-03. Open Government Licence - Canada.
- Recipients: Detailed information on Transfer Payments, as per the Public Accounts of Canada.
- Net expenditures of this transfer payment program in the Public Accounts. It overlaps with program spending, so do not add the two.
← All children, families and child care spendingHow the figures are calculated