$10-a-day child care spaces expanded, including in Okanagan

More affordable child care spaces are opening in Kelowna.

The B.C. and federal governments announced Thursday that the Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement would create 930 more $10 a day childcare spaces in the province this spring.

There were 27 child care centres included in the expansion, including two in Kelowna that will offer a combined 116 affordable spaces.

There will be 56 $10 a day spaces opened at the Anne McClymont Club. Those include 12 spaces for infants/toddlers, 16 for kids aged 2.5 years to kindergarten age, and 28 for school aged children.

North Glenmore Little Gaters will also be able to provide 63 affordable child care spaces, 12 of which will be for school-age children and the remaining 51 for preschoolers.

Both these centres are run by Okanagan BGC.

“Affordable, $10-a-day child care that’ll help families save thousands of dollars, help parents balance work with family and help kids get the best start to life. That’s what today’s announcement with B.C. is all about,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

“Together, we’re making sure families across the province get the quality child care they need without worrying about the cost.”

These spaces are expected to reduce the average costs for child care for families from $1,120 a month for full-month, centre-based care to $200 for the same service.

“The $10-a-day savings have allowed us to plan for the future with less stress knowing that our child care fees will not be increasing like all the other costs of living,” Sarah Mara, the mother of one child accessing affordable care at Alex House in Surrey, said in a release from the province.

“It also takes the pressure of providing child care off our aging parents so that they can focus on their well-being.”

Through the combined effort of the upper levels of government, a total of 15,300 $10 a day child care spaces have been opened throughout B.C. since 2018.

“The families of over 15,000 children throughout B.C. have more money in their pockets as their child care bills are cut by more than $10,000 on average per child, per year,” Mitzi Dean, B.C.’s Minister of State for Child Care, said.

With the goal of providing over 15,000 affordable child spaces now met, the province stated it will now try to increase that figure to 20,000 spaces by the spring of 2026.

The other Interior communities included in the affordable child care expansion Thursday were:

• Ashcroft: eight multi-age spaces at Yellowhead Community Services Society’s Stepping Stones Daycare
• Grand Forks: 12 infant/toddler and 24 2.5 to kindergarten spaces (36 total) at Sunshine Valley Child Care Society’s Little People’s Centre Daycare
• Kimberley: 12 infant/toddler spaces at Summit Community Services Society’s First Steps Daycare
• Nelson: 16 infant/toddler and eight multi-age spaces (24 total) at Kootenay Kids Society’s Silver King Childcare Centre
• Oliver: 32 2.5 to kindergarten, 30 school-age and 16 preschooler spaces (78 total) at OneSky Community Resources Society’s Tuc El Nuit.