This section describes the timeline of major policy changes in Canada, starting in the 1970s when the provincial governments first established a standard of education for children through legislation and policy-making. Before this, the quality of early childhood education was not documented thoroughly or nationally. This marked the creation of many policy proposals such as the First Ministers Early Childhood Development Initiative of 2001 where the federal, provincial and territorial governments collaborated in their allocation of financial and structural resources to ensure that a nation wide standard of education was implemented as well as documented for future comparisons. This section also describes the federal government’s involvement in residential schools.
In the Early 1800s residential schools in Canada were church ran establishments that forcibly took children out of their homes and separated them from their cultural identities. These residential schools were not put into place to educate children, but rather to remove the influence of indigenous culture, language and practices.
In the 1970s, both levels of governments finally accepted Early Childhood Education as a profession and outlined its working conditions and regulations. However, during this same time in the 1970s the Canadian Federal government became much more financially involved in the Policy enforcement of Residential Schools. During this sudden shift more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly enrolled for their first year where they endured physical and verbal abuse and unjust discipline methods. During these years the federal government aided the religious educators in the removal of children from their families, causing intergenerational trauma. Furthermore in 1984, ECE policies were seen as belonging to provincial/territorial jurisdiction and coordinate with the overarching domain of federal child care and rights policies.
In 1996 the last residential school was shut down under the leadership of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Afterwards, in 1999, the Social Union Framework agreement between the federal and provincial governments (excluding Québec) was reached, which secured sustainable funding for social programs and services across Canada.
Under the Stephen Harper leadership in 2008, the federal government publicly apologized to all the victims that had to endure the harsh, and constitutionally unjust environment of residential schools. The federal government then contributed funds to form the Truth Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) as part of Canada’s largest class action settlement, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). These actions sparked a transition towards an early learning system that promotes positive child development for all.
(The ECE Advancement Decade)
This period in time was known as the ECE advancement decade due to the formulation of the Early Learning Frameworks for each province and territory. These Frameworks allowed the provinces to set goals and standards to be met within the education system as well as clarify what is expected of early learning educators. This decade allowed the provinces to collaborate with the federal government on the funding they needed to be able to finally promote and deliver accessible, high-quality education for all Canadians.
In 2023 we received the publication of the 14th edition of the ECE and Child Care report of Canada (2023) by the childcare resource and research unit. It describes the provincial/territorial similarities and differences in ECE and the advancements in federal funding. It also highlights the policies that are implemented nation-wide but still implies that there is always room to grow and learn what benefits the education of the students the most. Policies in the present day focus on the well being of the child, the inclusion and safety of the child and ensuring that they are treated with respect.
(Addition information on present day funding –> Funding ECE )