NDP MLAs Anderson and Morissette say more families in the Kootenays will benefit from investments in child care
BALFOUR- NDP MLAs Brittny Anderson and Steve Morissette say that more families will benefit from $10-a-day child care spaces and funding for new child care centres.
“Having access to child care is a game-changer for parents, and an economic development for communities” says Brittny Anderson, MLA for Kootenay Central. “Investing in new child care spaces is one more way we’re making it easier to for families to grow and thrive in rural communities.”
In Balfour, 24 brand new spaces will open that will be operated by the Balfour Recreation Commission at Cedar and Stars Early Learning Centre, and 110 new spaces will be operated by the Town of Creston (facility name is still TBD) through the New Spaces Fund.
Additionally, 25 spaces at the Castlegar & District Kids’ Club (run by Kootenay Family Place) , and 26 spaces at Sunshine Children’s Centre in Trail (run by the Trail District Day Care Society) will be converted to the $10 a Day ChildCare BC program.
“Affordable and accessible child care is a key ingredient in thriving communities, I know that from my experience as mayor,” said Steve Morissette, MLA for Kootenay-Monashee. “It’s amazing to know that more people across the region and the province will be able to access reliable child care for just ten dollars a day.”
Across BC, families will soon be benefiting from 770 new $10-a-day spaces at 22 child care centres. Spaces in the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program reduce the average cost of child care for children ages 5 and under from $1,115 a month for full-time, centre-based care to $200 a month for the same service, saving families an average of approximately $915 a month per child.
A combined total of almost $62 million is being invested to create more than 750 new licensed child care spaces in regions throughout B.C. through our accelerated space creation programs. Once operational, these spaces will be eligible for government’s fee reduction program, ensuring that these new spaces will be affordable for families.
These investments represent further progress in partnership with the federal government. The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement supports the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program, the New Spaces Fund and additional funding through the federal Child Care Infrastructure Fund support the creation of new child care spaces.
Since 2018, the Province and Government of Canada have invested nearly $8 billion through ChildCareBC to build a future where access to affordable, inclusive, and quality child care is a core service that families can rely on. This has resulted in more than 40,000 new child care spaces funded and more than 16,000 $10-a-day child care spaces throughout B.C.
Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025ECC0015-000242