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.

Premier Stephen McNeil is shown at a child-care centre last spring after announcing a universal preschool education program for four-year-olds. (Paul Withers/CBC)

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.