Nova Scotia to spend $8.9M to create 1,000 new regulated child-care spaces

The Nova Scotia government says $8.9 million will be spent to create 1,000 new regulated child-care spaces across the province.

The money must be spent before the end of the current fiscal year and is part of a $35-million deal with Ottawa that aims to make care more accessible and affordable.

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Zach Churchill says $6.9 million will create 500 new spaces in home-based, regulated settings.

Churchill says another 500 spaces will be part of 15 new regulated child-care centres being created in areas that are most in need of them.

Eleven of the province's 18 counties have been targeted, including the province's two largest municipalities Halifax and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Churchill says the remaining $2 million has been designated for a one-time grant in 2018-19 to help existing centres convert their spaces.