The federal government’s pre-budget campaign resumed for the second consecutive day, this time targeting parents and child care providers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday in Surrey, British Columbia, that the government plans to provide more than one billion dollars in the form of low-cost loans, grants, and student loan forgiveness to expand child care across Canada.

Trudeau added that the funding is part of the Liberal government’s efforts to regain support among young voters and middle-class families.

“This is a completely new program we are building because as a government, we have decided and learned that access to high-quality, affordable child care is important across the country, not only so that children can get the best start in life, not only because it contributes to our economic growth, but because families, especially mothers, should not have to choose between their careers and raising a family.”

The Prime Minister said that money will be lent directly to non-profit and public child care providers through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to expand their spaces or for projects such as new centers built next to public housing.

He confirmed that an additional $60 million will be allocated as non-repayable grants to eligible child care centers to build new spaces or renovate them.

The government will also provide student loan forgiveness for early childhood educators in rural and remote areas and another $10 million over two years to boost their ranks with additional training.

Funding affordable child care spaces is an extension of the government’s $10-a-day child care program that all provinces and territories agreed to.

Trudeau acknowledged during the announcement that not all provincial governments are moving "as quickly or responsibly as they should" on the $10-a-day program.

He continued, “We will continue to work constructively with all provinces but we recognize that since federal Conservatives consistently stand against child care, Conservative premiers in some cases are slow to act and in some cases do not provide the right level, because they do not want to listen to their federal brothers.”

Daycare operators in some provinces have threatened to withdraw from the national system, saying federal-provincial agreements limit the fees they can charge and do not cover their costs.

Child care groups in Alberta and Ontario said the burden of providing low-cost care has been shifted to operators.

Trudeau said his government will hold those provinces accountable after they accept the funding.

He added, “But a billion-dollar investment in child care will make a big difference in the number of spaces across the country.”

On Wednesday, Trudeau began the pre-budget tour by unveiling details of a $15 million fund and a rights document to better protect renters who lease their homes.