Investments will boost child care for families
Press Release
March 24, 2025
VICTORIA – Families throughout British Columbia continue to benefit from government investments in child care, as more families gain access to $10-a-day spaces and new child care centre projects are funded.
“As we face economic threats and British Columbians struggle with rising costs, we are continuing to make critical investments in child care,” said Lisa Beare, B.C.’s Minister of Education and Child Care. “By increasing access to child care and saving families thousands of dollars per year, we’re helping hard-working British Columbians and securing a stronger future for our province today.”
More than $62 million is being invested to create more than 750 new licensed child care spaces throughout B.C. through the accelerated space-creation programs. Once operational, these spaces will be eligible for the government’s fee reduction program, ensuring affordability for families.
“As Langford continues to grow, ensuring affordable and high-quality child care spaces for families in our community remains a top priority,” said Scott Goodmanson, mayor of Langford, which received a New Spaces Fund grant. “We are grateful for the support from both the provincial and federal governments in addressing this need and helping us move forward. Partnerships like these are essential for achieving our shared goals.”
Additionally, between March 1 and April 1, 2025, families will benefit from 770 new $10-a-day spaces at 22 child care centres throughout B.C., including in Surrey, Parksville and Williams Lake.
“Communication Stars Specialized Childcare is excited to be part of the $10 a Day ChildCare BC program,” said Noreen Simmons, executive director, BC Family Hearing Resource Society. “We will be able to continue delivering a high-quality bilingual program, in English and American Sign Language, that supports the needs of the children we serve. That ensures our parents are less stressed because they have access to affordable, quality care.”
For this investment, the government’s focus was to prioritize new $10-a-day facilities in communities that do not yet have access to the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program and/or providers who serve low-income areas. Spaces in the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program reduce the average cost of child care for children five and younger from $1,115 a month for full-time, centre-based care to $200 a month for the same service, saving families an average of approximately $915 a month per child.
“The $10-a-day savings will make a big impact on our family,” said Ami, a parent. “We thank Communication Stars Specialized Childcare and my child’s teachers for providing a language-rich program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and the $10-a-day program for helping ensure families like ours can continue receiving high-quality, affordable, specialized child care.”
These investments in the creation of new licensed child care spaces and the ongoing growth of $10-a-day child care in communities throughout B.C. represent further progress in partnership with the federal government. The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement supports the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program, the New Spaces Fund and additional funding through the federal 2025-26 Child Care Infrastructure Fund to support the creation of new child care spaces.
Since 2018, the Province and Government of Canada have invested nearly $8 billion through ChildCareBC to build a future where access to affordable, high-quality and inclusive child care is a core service that families can rely on. This has resulted in more than 40,000 new child care spaces funded – more than 23,000 of which are open – and more than 16,000 $10-a-day child care spaces throughout B.C.
Quotes:
Rohini Arora, parliamentary secretary for child care –
“By investing in child care and raising families up, our government is making a real difference in people’s lives. Child care is critical for parents, especially mothers to be able to work, study and pursue opportunities which, in turn, is good for our communities and B.C.’s economy.”
Jagrup Brar, MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood –
“I am pleased to see that more families in Surrey will be saving thousands of dollars each year, as three more child care centres move into the $10-a-day program. These savings will help hard-working people stretch their budgets further and help make our community stronger and more resilient.”
Learn More:
For more information about affordable child care options through ChildCareBC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare
To apply for the ACCB, visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/affordablechildcarebenefit
For more information about Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care, visit: https://canada.ca/child-care
Three backgrounders follow.
Contact:
Ministry of Education and Child Care
Media Relations
ECC.media@gov.bc.ca
250 896-4891
BACKGROUNDER 1
Boosts for B.C. child care
- More spaces will be converted to the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program over the next couple of months, bringing B.C. closer to the goal of 20,000 $10-a-day spaces by March 31, 2026.
- In addition to the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program, the federal and provincial governments are helping families with the cost of child care through:
- Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative: families representing more than 138,000 children under the age of 12 are saving as much as $900 a month, per child;
- The Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB): the program provides up to $1,250 a month to families who make as much as $111,000 per year. ACCB can be combined with either the fee reductions or the $10-a-day program, which can drop fees as low as $0.
- British Columbia has signed five-year extensions to the Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and to the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, worth more than $5 billion total, which includes the fourth and final year (2026-2027) of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.
- Funding provided to British Columbia will increase by 3% every year for four years, starting in fiscal year 2027-28, ensuring the early-learning and child care system remains sustainable over the duration of the agreements, while providing flexibility for British Columbia to respond to inflationary pressures.
Contact:
Ministry of Education and Child Care
Media Relations
ECC.media@gov.bc.ca
250 896-4891
BACKGROUNDER 2
More $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces at B.C. child care centres
Here are the 22 additional child care centres joining the $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces in B.C.:
Pumpkin Patch Nursery School, Black Creek
Pumpkin Patch Nursery School, 24 spaces
Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion
Little Eagles Childcare – Centre for Excellence, 37 spaces
Kootenay Family Place, Castlegar
Castlegar & District Kids’ Club, 25 spaces
Onesky Community Resources Society, Cawston
Cawston Primary Preschool, 16 spaces
Little Kritters Daycare, Charlie Lake
Little Kritters Daycare, eight spaces
Little Lakers Learning Centre Society, Christina Lake
Little Lakers Learning Centre, eight spaces
Serendipity Child Development Society, Madeira Park
Serendipity Child Care Centre, 13 spaces
Southern Cortes Community Association, Mansons Landing
Cortes Island Playschool, 28 spaces
Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Vancouver Island, Parksville
Parksville Child and Family Centre, 111 spaces
Peachland Childcare Inc.
Peachland Childcare Inc., eight spaces
Onesky Community Resources Society, Penticton
Edmonton Ave. Child Care Centre, 112 spaces
Cheeky Monkey’s Daycare, Quesnel
Cheeky Monkey’s Daycare, seven spaces
North & South Shuswap Community Resource Association, Sorrento
Sorrento Preschool, 20 spaces
Al-Mustafa Islamic Association, Surrey
Al-Mustafa Junior Kindergarten, 20 spaces
B.C. Family Hearing Resource Society, Surrey
Communication Stars Specialized Childcare, 12 spaces
City of Surrey
Fraser Heights Recreation Centre, 72 spaces
District of Tofino
Community Children’s Centre, 18 spaces
The Trail District Day Care Society
Sunshine Children’s Centre, 26 spaces
Ucluelet and Area Child Care Society
Ucluelet Children’s Centre, 80 spaces
Developmental Disabilities Association of Vancouver-Richmond, Vancouver
Kids at G.F. Strong Child Development Centre, 40 spaces
Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs, Vernon
Okanagan Boys and Girls Club-Lakers Club, 36 spaces
Evangelical Free Church of Williams Lake
Maranatha Minis Daycare, 49 spaces
Contact:Ministry of Education and Child Care
Media Relations
ECC.media@gov.bc.ca
250 896-4891
BACKGROUNDER 3
Funding opens new child care spaces throughout B.C.
ChildCareBC 2024-25 New Spaces Fund:
Yellowhead Community Services Society, Clearwater
Building Blocks Daycare, 13 spaces
Town of Creston
Facility Name TBD, 110 spaces
The Corporation of the City of Duncan
McAdam Park, 36 spaces
School District 60, Fort St. John
Robert Ogilvie Elementary, 24 spaces
City of Langford
Facility Name TBD, 73 spaces
The Sonshine Street Preschool, Langley
Sonshine Street Childcare – Aldergrove, 24 spaces
Balfour Recreation Commission, Nelson
Cedar and Stars Early Learning Centre, 24 spaces
Parkgate Community Services Society, North Vancouver
Lynn Creek Child Care, 37spaces
School District 93 (Conseil Scolaire Francophone), Penticton
Entre-Lacs, 33 spaces
School District 93 (Conseil Scolaire Francophone), Prince George
Franco-Nord, 33 spaces
School District 69, Qualicum
Qualicum Beach Elementary, 75 spaces
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Facility Name TBD, 37 spaces
2025-26 Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund:
Nawican Friendship Centre, Dawson Creek
Nawican Child Care Centre, 44 spaces
Chawathil First Nation, Hope
Chawathil Child Care Centre, 48 spaces
Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society
Facility name TBD, 33 spaces
Skeetchestn First Nation, Savona
Knucwentwecw, 81 spaces
Sik-E-Dakh (Glen Vowell First Nations)
Sik-E-Dakh Daxyget Daycare, 37 spaces
Contact:
Ministry of Education and Child Care
Media Relations
ECC.media@gov.bc.ca
250 896-4891
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