Some families applaud Alberta’s $15-a-day child care plan, but one critic laments loss of subsidy​on February 5, 2025 at 9:04 pm

Calgary parents likely had mixed reactions to the province’s plan to introduce a flat rate fee for day care services this spring that will result in $15-a-day child care.

Alberta’s jobs, economy and trade minister Matt Jones announced last Thursday that as of April 1, families with children in full-time child care programs (more than 100 hours a month) will pay a flat monthly fee of $326.25, while parents requiring part-time care (ranging from 50 to 99 hours a month) will pay $230 per month.

“Albertans deserve affordable child-care options, no matter where they are or which type of care works best for them,” Jones said. “We are bringing in flat parent fees for families so they can all access high-quality child care for the same affordable, predictable fee.”

The move is part of the $3.8-billion federal-provincial agreement that Alberta’s government signed with Ottawa in 2021 — a pledge to enact $10-a-day child care by 2026.

The new flat fee will provide transparency and predictability for families, according to Jones, and improve fairness for day care operators. Under the change, approximately 85 per cent of licensed day care providers will receive a funding increase once the new structure is in place on April 1.

“On behalf of families, Alberta’s government will cover about 80 per cent of child-care fees through grants to daycare facilities and family day homes,” a provincial press release states.

“This means a family using full-time daycare could save, on average, $11,000 per child per year.”

Calgary parent Carly Evans, who moved here from the U.S. in 2018, has a two-year-old daughter in a full-time day care. She and her husband currently pay $991 monthly for that program, or more than $50 a day, and were “elated” to hear of the coming changes.

“I think finally getting everyone to the same target is exciting and compared to what people were paying before these subsidies existed, this is a huge win,” Evans said, adding the $600-plus that her family will save each month will allow them to spend that money on other necessities, or contribute it toward their daughter’s education fund.

“Just knowing we’re not going to be having to pay what families were paying (before) for this type of care is amazing,” she said. “The savings definitely free us up to put money into an RESP account — things like that.

“Having extra money on hand for any family right now, I think, is huge.”

But while many parents are celebrating a reduction in their day care bill, a child care advocacy group is criticizing the province’s decision to discontinue the income-based child-care subsidy.