Continued advocacy to the federal government means that Alberta families will have access to thousands more licensed private child-care spaces.

Alberta’s government supports parental choice in selecting the licensed child-care provider that fits their family needs and gives them peace of mind. Ongoing work by Children’s Services ensures the Alberta-Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement (ACELCC) helps Alberta families by reflecting the province’s mixed-market child-care system that includes both private and non-profit providers.

Agreement on the Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan with the federal government was a next step to creating more child-care spaces in Alberta. Now, up to 22,500 additional licensed private child-care spaces may become eligible for funding supports over the next three years for a total of 68,700 new licensed child care spaces by the end of March 2026. These supports will help increase access to child-care across the province and reduce child care fees for Alberta parents.

Of the 22,500 new spaces created, up to 1,600 private spaces may be eligible for funding almost immediately, with up to 2,000 more eligible as soon as licensing requirements are completed, a move that will reduce parent fees for more Alberta families. The remaining spaces will be created by 2026, as part of Alberta’s commitment to ensure increased access to licensed child care for families across the province.

“We remain fully committed to supporting the development of a child care system that works best for Alberta families by providing parents with affordable, accessible, flexible and inclusive high-quality child care. Including more private spaces in the child-care agreement is the next step in ensuring that parents have more child-care options and reducing parent fees to an average of $10 a day by 2026.”

Mickey Amery, Minister of Children’s Services

Through the ACELCC agreement, average child-care fees for kids aged zero to kindergarten have been reduced by half. Expanding spaces will play a crucial role in reducing child-care fees for parents to an average of $10 per day by 2026, a move that is important to both federal and provincial governments.

“Today’s announcement highlights our commitment to on-the-ground child care providers in Alberta. Our expansion plan will create spaces for parents and get children off waitlists while ensuring the reasonable use of tax dollars. We want more families with children in licensed spaces to be able to reap the benefits of more affordable child care.”

Karina Gould, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

These new private spaces will be included in the overall strategy to ensure access to licensed child care across the province in Alberta’s mixed-market system.

As of September 2022, more than 112,000 spaces for children up to kindergarten-age are eligible for funding supports in both private and non-profit licensed child-care programs. The initial agreement, signed in November 2021, meant that 42,500 non-profit spaces would be created by 2025-26. Now that the Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan has been agreed to by both governments, 22,500 private spaces are also eligible for funding.

“We negotiated a made-in-Alberta child-care deal that would improve access to affordable, accessible and quality child care for Albertans. We fought hard for a deal that would fully include our valued private operators, because we knew the success of this program relies on the innovation and creativity of these, oftentimes, female entrepreneurs who serve families and kids across the province. This framework was the next step in that agreement and I’m glad to see we can now move ahead on creating more spaces.”

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Municipal Affairs

“As a government, we respect parental choice in child care and are focused on keeping child care affordable for families. This cost control framework is another important step towards affordable, accessible and high-quality child care for all Albertans.”

Matt Jones, Minister of Affordability and Utilities

Alberta’s government has continued working with the federal government since the agreement was first signed in November 2021 to ensure the province received the best deal possible. Ongoing conversations have resulted in the signing of the Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan, which means that new private operators previously excluded from funding supports can now be included.

With the framework and expansion plan agreed to, the province can now prepare for its implementation, including developing a new sustainable funding model. Alberta’s government will continue engaging with child-care operators in the coming months for provide input on how to implement the Cost Control Framework.

“At a time when the cost of living continues to rise, these new affordable child-care spaces will make all the difference in the world for my family. Having our child-care fees cut in half will go a long way in helping to reduce the financial burden when it comes to paying the bills.”

Kristen Bailey, Parent

“This announcement is great news not just for us but also for our Alberta families. Including private operators in the child-care agreement will meaningfully impact Alberta families seeking affordable child care. We are excitedly looking forward to continuing to offer families choices when deciding where their child or children can go to for affordable high-quality child care.”

Cynthia Nerling, president, Alberta Association of Child Care Operators

Quick facts

• Alberta’s cost control framework will apply to all private and non-profit operators. Before the framework was agreed to, only new non-profit spaces were eligible for the funding supports.
• In addition to subsidies based on income thresholds, for a full-time child in child care, parents save between $450 and $635 per month as a result of affordability funding to operators.

Keith Hopper, Trending 55