Alberta daycare operators considering dumping $10-a-day program, association says

Parents across Alberta could be paying more for daycare as early as next month.

That's because some operators are considering opting out of the province’s childcare affordability grant, arguing the current agreement is unfair and unsustainable.

"My program is bleeding money on a monthly basis because I am pulling out of my savings in order to front this grant program," explained Kathryn Babowal of Les Petits Soleils KinderCare in Sherwood Park.

"Honestly, I see this new phase of the contract roll out and I wonder, 'Have you listened?'"

Babowal is not sure she can afford to sign this year’s childcare affordability grant.

In 2022, Ottawa and Alberta signed a deal for $10-a-day daycare.

By 2026, operators were expected to cut prices by 50 per cent and wait to be reimbursed by the province.

Under the 2024 agreement, operators are being asked to cut prices further.

"We’re being asked to fund the government 80 to 100 per cent of our revenue for 40 to 45 days," said Krystal Churcher, chair of the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs.

The association, which represents over 200 daycares, says they’ve raised concerns with the province for two years.

"We haven’t been heard. These issues are not being taken seriously and we are really struggling to just keep the lights on and not sure how to continue past the end of January," Churcher said.

The association wants a new funding model that would give money directly to parents.

Churcher believes more funding is also needed to keep up with inflation.

"I have an open door when it comes to many of those suggestions and I have been getting feedback from operators from right across the province as well as parents on how we can continuously improve the system," said Searle Turton, Alberta's minister of children and family services.

Turton insists the province is still on track to meet the goal of $10-a-day daycare by 2026 and had this warning for operators considering opting out.

"Operators have the chance and the opportunity to remove themselves from this agreement, but they would also have to go back to the same cost control, or cost structure, they had before," he said.

That means parents would be left paying fees in full.

Operators have until Jan. 31 to sign on to the 2024 contract, leaving Babowal with a difficult decision.

"I regret ever signing on to this program in the first place," she said.