New Report Calculates Economic Benefits of Ontario’s Full Day Early Learning Program

Early Learning and Care Impact Analysis, a new report from the Centre for Spatial Economics with support from the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, was released August 30th. This study calculated the short and long-term economic benefits of the implementation of Ontario’s Full Day Early Learning Program. This study concluded that the program will have a positive impact not only on student academic achievement, but on the Ontario economy as a whole (based on the 2009 Early Learning Report containing a recommendation for a common programming framework for Ontario — see their complete summary).

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Some of the highlights include:

  • Job creation: every million dollars spent on early learning will result in the creation of 29 jobs;
  • Increase in the GDP: every dollar invested in early learning will result in an increase in the GDP by $2.02;
  • Societal benefits: early learning investments will have an impact on society as a whole, with a $2.42 payback through increased earnings, improvement in health outcomes and a reduction in social costs.

This report provides concrete economic evidence to support early learning initiatives across Canada.