B.C.'s Child Care Promise Fades as Fees Soar to Highest in Canada
Thousands of young parents across British Columbia are watching their hopes for affordable $10-a-day child care disappear daily. Despite the B.C. NDP making this promise in three consecutive elections, securing a spot at this rate has become as unlikely as winning a lottery jackpot.
The Stark Reality of Child Care Costs
While the provincial government has made some progress by opening thousands of new licensed spaces over the past seven years and providing long-overdue raises to early childhood educators, families continue to face harsh realities. Many encounter daily fees reaching $95 per day, extensive waiting lists, and additional costs like optional meal plans that can add hundreds of dollars monthly.
The challenges don't end there. Parents must contend with mandatory 4:30 p.m. pick-up times and substantial late fees if they cannot meet these strict deadlines. The fundamental problem remains that finding any available space at all has become increasingly difficult for many families.
From Pioneer to Last Place
In 2018, John Horgan's NDP government committed to establishing a comprehensive $10-a-day child care system by 2028. Despite British Columbia's early advantage and the arrival of significant federal funding in 2021, the province has experienced a dramatic reversal of fortune.
Shockingly, B.C. now has the most expensive parent fees in Canada. This decline becomes even more striking when compared to other provinces. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have successfully capped fees at $10 per day for all their child care programs, while Alberta maintains a $15 daily cap and Ontario limits fees to $22 per day.
The situation in British Columbia appears particularly dire when examining the statistics. Only 10 percent of existing child care spaces in the province are currently capped at the promised $10-a-day rate, leaving the majority of families facing substantially higher costs.
Economic Consequences and Frozen Funding
Recent budget documents reveal that provincial investment in child care will remain frozen at 2024 levels for the next three years, effectively halting the expansion of $10-a-day spaces. This decision closes the door on affordable, quality child care for thousands of young families, even as parents fortunate enough to secure $10-a-day spots describe the program as life-changing.
Economist Jim Stanford has quantified the economic impact of affordable child care in unmistakable terms. His analysis shows that expanded affordable child care has contributed an estimated $5.8 billion to B.C.'s GDP since 2019, representing approximately 1.3 percent of the entire provincial economy.
The program has generated over 8,000 new jobs in the child care sector while boosting real wages across the board. Most significantly, it has enabled approximately 33,000 additional full-time-equivalent workers, predominantly mothers, to join or return to the workforce. These workers have subsequently generated about $1 billion in extra annual provincial revenue in 2024 alone.
British Columbia stands at a critical crossroads, risking the loss of one of the most effective tools available for stimulating economic growth, promoting gender equality, and ensuring family affordability. The contrast between the current reality and the government's repeated promises has left many families questioning when, or if, meaningful change will arrive.
