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The Government of Canada and B.C. have entered into the first early learning and child care agreement, moving towards $10 a day child care.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with Premier of British Columbia John Horgan, announced the agreement during a press conference in Coquitlam Thursday. As part of the agreement, the Government of Canada will invest $3.2 billion over the next five years.
The province will invest an additional $2.5 billion over the next three years, building on $2 billion invested since 2018. In total, B.C. plans to invest $30 billion by 2026.
The governments say building a Canada-wide early learning, and child care system will ease costs for families and increase women’s participation in the workforce.
“For years, many parents in B.C. struggled to find child care. When they could find it, costs were sometimes too much to bear. The progress we’ve already made to fund new spaces and save families money has been life-changing,” said Horgan.
By the end of the five-year agreement, the goal is to reach a $10 a day child care and an average parent fee of $10 per day for all regulated child care spaces for children under 6. Parents and guardians are expected to see a 50 per cent reduction in fees by the end of 2022.
Trudeau says the agreement will lead to creating 30,000 new regulated spaces within five years and 40,000 in seven years. These spaces will be focused on community investments that are long-term and run by public and non-profit institutions.
“We know what it takes to build a more accessible and affordable child care system in British Columbia because it’s happening right now. By working together to make $10-a-day child care a reality for families, we’re helping build a strong recovery for everyone,” said Horgan.
The federal and provincial governments will work together to improve access to quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services, according to the Prime Minister’s office.
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