Media Release June 23, 2025

“It’s time to deliver”: child care advocates call on BC to renew commitment to $10aDay child care 

– Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC relaunches campaign for universal, quality, affordable child care in BC –

Unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh) Nations (Vancouver B.C.) – The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC (CCCABC) relaunched its $10aDay campaign for universal, affordable, quality child care in BC today, following what it says is a failure by the Province to deliver on its commitments to achieve universal $10aDay child care over 10 years,  where “universal” child care is “a core service families can rely on.”

CCCABC was joined for the announcement by dozens of coalition members, parents, supporters and advocates for quality, affordable, accessible $10aDay child care, representing the business, community, non-profit and labour sectors. 

“Our first campaign was remarkably successful,” said Coalition spokesperson Sharon Gregson. “In 2018, because of $10aDay advocacy, BC became a national leader in child care and for a few years, there was significant progress in making affordable child care available to more BC families, and improving wages for educators. That progress has now stalled. With just three years remaining in the government's 10-year plan, the Province has flatlined provincial child care funding in the last two budgets, with no new provincial funds committed to achieving the promise of quality, universal $10aDay child care by 2028.”

“I’m incredibly honoured to have played a role in launching BC’s 10-year ChildCareBC plan and $10aDay child care, and I know it’s absolutely possible to make affordable child care accessible to all families,” said Katrina Chen, former BC MLA and Minister of State for Child Care. “Despite BC’s early commitment to universal $10aDay child care, most Canadian jurisdictions have now surpassed BC on setting parent fees and implementing a wage grid for educators. Re-prioritizing BC’s child care commitments will have positive impacts for children, families and our economy. We need to get child care back on track in BC."

Melissa Higgs, Principal at hcma architecture + design and immediate past chair of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, says that in the midst of economic uncertainty, the business case for $10aDay child care couldn’t be more clear. “In an economic crisis, it’s more critical than ever to support families and ensure equitable opportunities to participate in the workforce. We can’t afford not to provide affordable child care to BC families,” says Higgs.

“BC needs to deliver on its promise of expanding access to quality $10aDay child care - and women, families, employers and our economy are paying the price,” said Erin Seeley, CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver, a major child care provider in the region. “Today, about 10% of families in licensed child care programs have access to $10 a day child care, while others are paying more than $1,600 a month. The solutions are right in front of us. It’s time for more action in BC.”

The CCCABC also launched two online tools today. The first new online tool allows users to select a school district, and see how far that district is from BC’s promise of universal child care, and how it compares to others across the province. The second online tool allows users to see the odds of “winning the $10aDay lottery” in their region, and if they don’t win, how much more they’ll typically pay in unfair extra fees. 

As part of today’s announcement, the Coalition released Dr. Jim Stanford’s report “The Economic Benefits of Expanded Child Care Services in British Columbia.” Stanford’s analysis of BC’s recent economic data provides the business case for BC to renew its commitment to child care as a core, universal service in this province. 

“BC’s investment in child care services since 2019 generated important economic gains for the province, its residents and the BC government. Employment growth, earnings, labour supply and GDP were all boosted by the investments made in child care, and the BC government has reaped significant incremental revenues as a result of that economic progress,” said Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work. “It is important to continue expanding the supply of $10-per-day spaces in order to keep these economic benefits flowing.”

Gregson says the relaunch of the $10aDay campaign will highlight four key priorities for the 2026 BC Budget. “BC has lost its way, but it’s not too late,” adds Gregson. “Premier Eby needs to refocus on and reinvest in creating more child care spaces to meet demand - including for school-age children in all elementary schools, expanding $10aDay to all programs, and investing in educators with a fair wage grid to ensure quality”. It’s time for BC to deliver.”

The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC (CCCABC) is an inclusive, feminist, membership-based organization. We are individuals and groups including parents, grandparents, early childhood educators, child care providers, community organizations, academics and unions. We work collectively, using research, public education and mobilization, to achieve our vision of a high-quality, affordable, accessible, inclusive child care system that serves the public interest - the $10aDay Plan.

Backgrounder

BC’s promise of universal child care 

In 2018 BC became the first province outside of Quebec to commit to achieving universal $10aDay child care over 10 years, detailed in its ChildCareBC Plan and reiterated in subsequent BC government publications including the BC Budget 2024 Service Plan for the Ministry of Education and Child Care  (pp. 4, 17, 20). However, the Ministry’s  BC Budget 2025 Service Plan  indicates that provincial spending is flat-lined from 2024/25 through 2027/28 (p. 18). 

Child care is an economic engine 

A new analysis by Dr. Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work has quantified how BC’s investments in child care between 2019 and 2024 have been an economic boon for BC. Economic impacts include:

• 8,000 new direct jobs in the child care sector 
• Increased female labour force participation and greater access to full-time work have increased labour supply by 33,000 FTE workers
• Lower child care fees helped to combat inflation

Overall, BC’s GDP in 2024 was $5.8 billion larger than it would have been if not for this growth in the child care sector, generating an additional $1 billion in provincial government revenue - more than offsetting the 2024 provincial child care expenditures of $865 million.

These economic benefits have been created through BC’s key investments in child care access, affordability and quality through 2024. BC created new 0-K child care spaces faster than the Canadian average, increased wages for qualified educators, and reduced average parent fees.  

“Accelerating and strengthening the rollout of $10aDay spaces in the province, and improving the quality of care provided…will be important in ensuring these economic benefits continue to be reaped in the years to come,” says Stanford. “The key lesson arising from this analysis is clear. Quality, accessible, universal child care services are a vital precondition for economic progress. The faster BC can move toward that goal, by improving both the quantity and the quality of child care services, the greater will be the future economic gains for all sectors of the provincial economy.”

Highly unequal access   

The Coalition has released a new online tool allowing users to select a school district, in order to see how far that district is from BC’s promise of universal child care, and how it compares to others across the province. Overall, the tool shows: 

• Not enough child care → BC-wide, only 25% of children 0 to Grade 7 have access to a licensed child care space. School-age care is especially lacking (only 12% of children have access).  
• Highly unequal access → In some school districts less than 15% of children have access, while in others it’s 40% or higher.  

Highly uneven fees     
The Coalition has released a second online tool allowing users to see the odds of “winning the $10aDay lottery” in their region, and if they don’t win, how much more they’ll typically have to pay in unfair extra fees. Overall, it shows:

• $10aDay lottery → Only 1 in 10 licensed spaces province-wide have set parent fees of no more than $10aDay (as few as 1 in 31 in the Fraser Valley). 
• Typical (median) families who don’t win the $10aDay lottery have to pay thousands more per year in extra fees, with individual fees ranging significantly, including big differences between age groups, and between different regions of BC. These fees continue to rise every year. 

BC is now falling behind the rest of Canada

BC is at the back of the pack on key building blocks of universal child care: set fees (all families pay no more than a set amount for child care), and set compensation (all educators receive guaranteed wages). In BC, both child care fees and educator wages remain highly variable, and unequal as a result.