From child care to post-secondary programs, we are supporting every student in B.C. to achieve their dreams. We’re building more licensed child care spaces, including many on school grounds, and expanding classroom space for K-12 kids. We’re creating more post-secondary spots in in-demand fields like tech, trades and health care.
Child care | K-12 Schools | Post-secondary learning and apprenticeships
- Since 2018, we have funded more than 41,500 new licensed child care spaces – 26,200 of those are now open, with the rest on the way.
- We launched the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which since February 2018 have helped parents save up to $1,600 a month per child on their child care fees.
- Beginning September 2023, we expanded fee reductions to include families with preschool and school-aged kids.
- Converted more than 16,000 child care spaces to $10 a Day spaces.
- Investing in Early Childhood Educators to train, recruit and retain these professionals. This includes:
- Enhancing ECE wages by $6 per hour, bringing the median ECE wage to $28 per hour.
- Providing bursaries of up to $5000 per semester to students completing ECE programs.
- Creating 151 student spaces in ECE work-integrated programs, so people can obtain or upgrade their qualifications while working.
- Prioritizing ECEs on the path towards permanent residency through the provincial nominee program.
- Expanding a dual-credit program that allows Grade 11 and 12 students to earn high school and post-secondary credits while they start their training as ECEs.
- Partnered with the First Nations Health Authority and the Aboriginal Head Start Association of B.C. to support the creation or transformation of more than 1,750 free child care spaces provincewide. Aboriginal Head Start spaces allow children to learn and grow in environments that reflect and celebrate their cultures.
- Amended the School Act to allow school boards to directly operate before and after school care on school grounds. Having child care on school grounds means smoother pick-ups and drop-offs for parents, and an easier transition for kids.
- Since September 2017, we have invested more than $6 billion for new and improved schools, and land purchases for schools. This has resulted in nearly 43,000 new student seats and more than 39,000 seismically safer seats in B.C. schools.
- More than doubled the funding for services for kids who need additional support in school, compared to 2016.
- Invested $214 million to create and expand local school food programs across the province through Budget 2023. This will help make sure students are fed and ready to learn, and ease inflation pressures on families.
- Added $20 million to the Student and Family Affordability Fund in 2024 to help families deal with the rising cost of living. The fund will make sure students have access to meals and have the supplies they need, as well as helping with the cost of field trips and other fees.
- Funded new playgrounds at over 300 elementary schools across the province since 2017, reducing the fundraising burden on parents and communities.
- Put cell phone restrictions in place in K-12 classrooms, so students can learn without distractions.
- Created access zones around schools to protect students and staff from disruptions or harassment by protestors.
- Negotiated a BC Tripartite Education Agreement (BCTEA) with Indigenous education rights-holders that commits the federal government to provide an additional $100 million over 5 years and guarantees equal per-pupil funding of on-reserve Indigenous students with local school district students – the first and only such agreement of its kind in Canada.
- Launched a K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan to empower students and teachers to identify racism and discrimination and take action.
- Became the first jurisdiction in Canada to require all public schools to provide students with equitable, stigma-free access to free menstrual products in school washrooms.
- Approved a curriculum for 18 First Nations languages to be taught in B.C. schools, with more in development.
- Introduced a new high school graduation requirement focused on Indigenous perspectives, histories and cultures.
Post-secondary learning and apprenticeships
- Committed $2 billion to expand student housing at public post-secondary institutions. To date, 6,100 beds for students are open, with another 4,600 underway.
- Reestablished needs-based student grants, which were cancelled by the BC Liberals, to make post-secondary education and training more affordable for thousands of students.
- Restored tuition-free Adult Basic Education and English Language Learning, removing roadblocks set up by the BC Liberals for people wanting to upgrade and pursue their dreams.
- Eliminated interest on British Columbia student loans, helping to ensure that students who have to borrow for their education don’t end up paying more than those who don’t.
- Launched a new $20 million training program so people can get the skills they need to help them find good jobs as the economy recovers.
- Provided emergency funding so students have access to assistance to help them cope with the financial pressures caused by COVID-19.
- Made post-secondary education tuition-free for all former youth in government care, no matter when they decide to go back to school. and provided additional funding for living expenses while they are in school.
- Created the StrongerBC Future Skills Grant, covering up to $3,500 in eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions.
- Invested nearly $14 million to help thousands of youth, women and under-represented groups to get apprenticeships and employment in the skilled trades.
- Investing in more programs for health care workers so people can begin rewarding careers and so that the health care system has the skilled work force it needs to provide care.
- Funded the first Indigenous law degree program in all of Canada at UVic – answering Article 50 of TRC.
- Invested $12 million to support graduate degree scholarships for Masters and Doctoral degree students.
- Adding 2,900 new tech-related seats at public colleges and universities in new and expanded programs across the province.
- Invested in open education resources including more open textbooks for students and instructors, reducing the burden of cost and levelling the playing field for students at post-secondary institutions across the province.
- Invested funding for new skills training and employment programs for survivors of violence and abuse, older workers, adult learners and people facing multiple barriers to employment to empower people to achieve their educational and professional goals.
- Expanded program spaces and bursary funding for those wanting to pursue a career in child care as an early childhood educator (ECE), as part of the Province’s commitment to create a universal child care system in B.C.
- Created the first nursing degree program in the Northeast and increased funding to create a number of additional seats in programs such as: occupational and physical therapy, and trades.
- More than doubled the number of specialty nurse training opportunities in the province by funding 1,000 seats each year at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).
- The first province in Canada to develop an Electric Vehicle Maintenance Training Program to make sure the province’s workforce has the skills and training needed to support more electric vehicles on the road.
- Opened new state-of-the-art facilities to support SFU sustainable energy engineering students, students preparing for careers in the health and social services sectors at Camosun College with the Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness and Selkirk College trades students.
- Launched a sexual violence prevention campaign at all of British Columbia’s public post-secondary campuses to educate students, faculty, staff and the broader public about consent, because people deserve to feel safe and free from potential sexual violence.
- Provided $9 million to expand co-op and work-integrated learning at post-secondary institutions so students will have more opportunities to gain real-life, relevant work experience that will give them a leg-up in their careers.
- Launched a made-in-B.C. certification system to support higher-paying, more stable work for trades workers and to help build the foundation of a strong economic recovery.
- Strengthened supports for international students in B.C., with higher standards for institutions so that students are not taken advantage of by false advertising.