New Metro Child Care Spaces to Support Recruitment and Retention in Health Care

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Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-10-30 12:40:16.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Healthcare, Education, Social Services, Labour]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is investing $1 million through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to fund up to 72 new child care spaces at the Unity Health Centre on Stavanger Drive in St. John's, operated by YWCA St. John's. Announced by Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Paul Dinn and Health and Community Services Minister Joedy Wall, the project provides priority access to all health care professionals to support workforce recruitment and retention. NL Health Services and YWCA St. John's endorsed the initiative, noting it will particularly assist workers requiring shift work and support gender equity in the labour market.

High Student Participation Highlights Growing Success of Youth Apprenticeship Summer Program

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-10-19 15:30:41.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Labour, Economy]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced that 85 youth apprentices and 68 employers successfully participated in the 2026 Youth Apprenticeship Summer Program, administered by Skills Canada Newfoundland and Labrador and funded via the Canada-NL Workforce Development Agreement and the Canada-NL Labour Market Development Agreement. Participating employers have applied for the Youth Apprenticeship Summer Program Extended Subsidy to maintain youth apprentices through the fall and winter months. Additionally, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development introduced teaching units at 21 schools this September to provide scheduling flexibility for students pursuing skilled trades coursework.

New Child Care Advisory Panel to Help Make Improvements to Child Care Services

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-10-19 13:00:57.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Social Services, Indigenous]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, led by Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Paul Dinn, has established a 12-member Child Care Advisory Panel composed of child care operators to provide insights and recommendations on expanding child care services. Budget 2026 allocates nearly $33 million to support child care spaces, encompassing approximately 1,200 spaces in progress and the creation of an additional 400 new spaces, building on more than 470 spaces opened since October 2025. Additionally, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will issue a focused expression of interest to secure Indigenous representation on the panel. The panel operates alongside an early childhood educator steering committee tasked with guiding the introduction of pensions and benefits for early childhood educators in the province.

Minister Dinn Announces Funding for Kids Eat Smart Foundation

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-10-06 17:15:44.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Social Services, Affordability]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development led by Minister Paul Dinn, announced $1,393,700 (approximately $1.4 million) in provincial funding for the Kids Eat Smart Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador. The grant supports the Kids Eat Smart breakfast program, which operates 275 clubs across schools and community centres, serving 47,000 breakfast meals each school day and totaling 6.3 million meals annually at no cost to families.

Federal Government Supports New Projects to Promote Francophone Immigration

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-29 13:50:03.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Immigration, Labour, Education, Healthcare, Economy]

The Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador announced an investment of $349,684 over two years under the Francophone Immigration Support Program. Administered via provincial ministers Lin Paddock (Jobs, Growth and Rural Development) and Lena Metlege Diab (federal Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship), the funding targets overseas recruitment to attract French-speaking and bilingual talent. The initiative aims to address labour market needs and population growth in key sectors such as education, early childhood education, and health care while expanding French-language services.

Expanding Violence Prevention Through Education: More School Staff to Receive Commit to Kids Training

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-23 18:45:02.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Social Services, Public Safety]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced $200,000 in joint funding through the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence to expand the Commit to Kids online training program. Administered by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and supported by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association, the initiative aims to train an additional 1,000 school staff members—including teachers, administrators, student assistants, and bus drivers across the kindergarten to Grade 12 system—to recognize and respond to signs of child abuse. This expansion builds on previous training delivered since 2024 to 1,140 personnel supporting grades 7 through 12, and complements updates to the provincial health education curriculum focused on trauma-informed learning regarding healthy relationships, consent, and online safety.

Provincial Government Introduces Universal Screening to Support Early Learning

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-09 16:00:43.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development led by Minister Paul Dinn, is introducing universal academic screening for the 2026-27 school year. Kindergarten and Grade 1 students will be evaluated using Acadience Reading and Acadience Reading Français screeners to measure foundational literacy skills. Additionally, universal mathematics screening tools will be implemented for Grade 1 and Grade 2 students in both English and French to identify early indicators of learning challenges and support student outcomes.

Minister Dinn Welcomes Students Back to School for a Successful New School Year

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-09 14:00:40.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Finance]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced the start of the 2026-27 K-12 school year across over 250 schools in the province under Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Paul Dinn. Budget 2026 allocates almost $625 million for educators, teaching, and learning assistants—representing a $29 million increase to fund an additional 94 teachers and 20 teaching and learning assistants. Additionally, the budget includes $2 million in funding dedicated specifically to student assistant supports.

Provincial Government Increasing Skilled Trades Opportunities for High School Students

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-08 17:40:09.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Labour, Economy]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is expanding skilled trades education opportunities for the 2026-27 school year across 21 high schools and six additional rural schools via the Centre for Learning and Development Innovation. The expansion provides between 6.25 and 12.5 hours of additional teaching time per week, eliminates all high school skilled trades waitlists, and adds courses such as Design and Fabrication 1202 and 2202, Skilled Trades 1201, Residential Construction Technology 2201, and Power and Energy 3201. This initiative fulfills a Blue Book commitment to introduce high-end pre-apprenticeship programs to prepare students for regional economic projects including Bay du Nord, Churchill Falls, and Gull Island.

Provincial Government Announces Appointments to Memorial University Board of Regents

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-08 17:00:56.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Governance, Indigenous]

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and Advanced Education and Skills Paul Dinn, announced the appointment of six members to the Memorial University Board of Regents for three-year terms following a merit-based selection process administered by the Independent Appointments Commission under the Independent Appointments Commission Act. The newly appointed general member representatives are Dean Ingram, Alex Gibson, Peter Carver, Leslie Rowsell, and Travis Martin. Additionally, Nina Darleen Rumbolt-Pye was appointed as a joint representative to serve concurrently on Memorial University’s Board of Regents and the College of the North Atlantic’s Board of Governors to enhance institutional collaboration.

Provincial Government Replacing Automated External Defibrillators at Schools

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-02 19:05:10.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure]

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Newfoundland and Labrador is allocating approximately $250,000 under Budget 2026 to replace outdated automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and defibrillator pads in schools across the province. The initiative targets more than 100 AEDs that have reached or are nearing their operational effectiveness date. The project is designed to ensure school facilities are equipped with up-to-date life-saving medical devices to improve bystander readiness and emergency response during cardiac arrests.

Consultations Beginning on Improving Apprenticeship Opportunities

Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-08-31 17:05:47.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Labour, Education, Industry, Economy]

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, through the NL Workforce Innovation Centre, is launching stakeholder consultations to overhaul the provincial apprenticeship system based on recommendations from Prism Economics and Analysis. The consultation process will gather input from apprentices, employers, unions, Indigenous governments, and training providers via online surveys, focus groups, and interviews to improve access, outcomes, and industry responsiveness. Key areas of focus include strengthening industry participation, establishing advisory councils, enhancing workforce planning data, and creating evaluation performance indicators. The consultation report is scheduled to be completed later in 2026.