Nanaimo families benefit from new child care centre

Nanaimo families and children are benefiting from 40 new child care spaces, such as out-of-school care at the Great Futures Early Learning Centre, conveniently located near Bayview Elementary school.

The Province partnered with the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of Central Vancouver Island to build these additional child care spaces with $1.5 million from the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund that supported the cost of renovation, large appliances, other equipment and a bus.

“Finding safe local child care can be extremely stressful for families,” said Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan. “Investments like these are life-changing for everyone. These new child care spaces will serve our community well, and our government looks forward to creating more positive changes for families in the coming months and years.”

BGC Central Vancouver Island provides transportation for children at the facility at no extra cost. Fees for the child care facility are partially or fully waived for families facing financial hardship. As well, they partner with Food Share to support families experiencing food insecurity during the summer months.

“At a time where families struggle to make ends meet, the creation of more affordable daycare spaces has become a priority for early childhood educators and a necessity for many Nanaimo families,” said Leonard Krog, mayor of Nanaimo. “We applaud BGC Central Vancouver Island in its work to address growing child care needs and the Ministry of Education and Child Care for prioritizing our community’s current space challenges today and, hopefully, for years to come.”

BGC Central Vancouver Island also works with the Nanaimo Child Development Centre to offer services for children needing extra support, such as speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy. Aboriginal Head Start programming is offered at this centre.

“The new infant-toddler spaces at BGC Fifth Street mean that both of our children attend at the same centre,” said Hannah Crawford. “Having only one dropoff and pickup each day means we get back time to spend as a family. As our kids move from infant-toddler to three-to-five for before-and-after-school care, they’ll be able to remain attached to the same centre, providing stability and strong relationships for both them and us.”

Since 2018, through the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, more than 34,000 new licensed child care spaces have been funded for creation in B.C., with more than 1,300 of these in Nanaimo and surrounding area. Funding the creation of new child care spaces is part of the Province’s goal to build access to affordable, quality, inclusive child care as a core service families can rely on.

“Having accessible, affordable child care helps Nanaimo families and Nanaimo’s workforce,” said Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo. “BGC in Nanaimo has been a great partner in our government’s child care expansion. I’m glad they’re now welcoming new kids and families.”

The Province and the Government of Canada invested more than $260 million in 2023 to fund the creation of new licensed child care spaces in high-need areas throughout B.C.

Learn More: 

For information about the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund

For information about ChildCareBC, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/childcare