University of New Brunswick | February 2026
Excerpt: "A strong early learning and childcare system depends on a skilled and stable workforce. Across Canada, early learning centres continue to face persistent staffing shortages, high workloads, and limited time for professional learning. These pressures make it difficult to recruit and retain early childhood educators (ECEs) and affect the consistency and quality of care that families rely on. When the system is unstable, it can lead to parents reducing work hours, declining opportunities, or exiting the labour market altogether. This leaves a predominantly female workforce undervalued and underpaid, with constrained career pathways and little recognition for the essential economic and social role they play."
