'A great first step': Thousands more subsidized daycare spaces coming to Alberta, but challenges remain

Thousands more parents will soon be eligible for subsidized daycare spaces in Alberta, as the provincial and federal governments have agreed to a key component in the next phase of their funding agreement.

Up to 1,600 more spaces in private, for-profit facilities will become eligible for funding "almost immediately," according to Alberta Children's Services Minister Mickey Amery.

Another 2,000 new spaces at private daycare centres are expected to qualify shortly after that, he said, once licensing requirements are completed.

The news comes after months of complaints from private operators — and parents — who have been effectively shut out of the affordable child-care program.

The initial phase of the federal-provincial agreement on child-care funding put a limit on the number of private daycare spaces that could receive the funding.

Since that limit was reached last spring, new or expanded spaces at for-profit facilities have not been eligible for the subsidies, which have already cut daycare costs in half for many parents.

That has come as a surprise to many parents, as well as some operators who were in the process of setting up new or expanded daycare facilities as the initial phase of the program rolled out — only to find there were no subsidies available once those spaces came online.

Robyn Sellin is among those parents. She runs a dance studio in Grande Prairie, located more than 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, and has an 18-month-old son.

"Finding child care for him has been very, very challenging," she said.

She started off by putting her son in a day home, under the care of a single individual in a private residence, but ultimately wanted a more structured, reliable environment.

The only licensed daycare spot she could find was in a new wing of a facility in Grande Prairie. She counted herself lucky to get a full-time space, but was surprised when she found out the subsidies don't apply and that she'd have to pay the full fee of $1,100 per month.

"It did sting a little bit, absolutely," she said.

"A friend of mine actually has a son and a daughter who go there and she got in at the stage where she did qualify for the subsidized rate. So she pays less for both her son and daughter to go."

The initial phase of the child-care funding agreement, which was signed in November 2021, is set to expire on April 1.