Canada, Alberta extend child-care deal one year as parents warn uncertainty is growing

The provincial government and Ottawa have agreed to a one-year extension of their early-learning and child-care deal, keeping fees at about $15 a day.

The governments of Canada and Alberta have reached a one-year extension to their early learning and child-care agreements, pledging to keep fees at an average of $15 per day through March 2027.

The move has been welcomed by parents and operators but still criticized as a short-term fix that leaves families unsure about what comes next.

Federal Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu and Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides made the announcement Friday in Calgary, confirming that Ottawa will transfer more than $1.17 billion to Alberta in 2026–27 to maintain affordability grants, support licensed operators and advance long-term development of the national child-care system.

The extension broadens two existing agreements — the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the bilateral Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement — each now running to March 31, 2027.

Officials say the deal protects affordability for families while giving the two governments more time to negotiate a longer-ranging framework.

“Affordable child care is an economic tool that helps Alberta grow,” Hajdu said in a statement.

“Lower fees are saving families thousands of dollars and keeping more people in the workforce. We will keep working with partners to protect and expand these spaces so every child can learn, and every family can plan for a strong future.”

Nicolaides added that the renewed federal support “maintains continuity for all families across the province,” noting that child care is central to the government’s goal of strengthening Alberta’s social programs and workforce.

Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, also called the extension a key investment for families.

“These are generational investments,” she said.

“Our government remains focused on protecting and enhancing the core social programs that empower Albertans.”

The short timeline however has sparked concern among some families and child-care providers who say one-year renewals deepen uncertainty around monthly fees, space creation and the long-term viability of centres across the province.

Short-term extension, long-term questions

For Calgary parent Jenna Davies, the announcement delivered relief but also cause for concern for what lies ahead for future childcare agreements.

Davies has a nine-month-old son who will one day need to be enrolled in daycare and a three-year-old daughter currently enrolled at the YMCA in Quarry Park.

She says herself and other parents had been waiting “on pins and needles” for months as the March 2026 expiry approached with no update from provincial officials.

“Obviously I’m grateful because parents like myself have been waiting for this announcement,” she said.

“But one year falls a bit flat because now we’re in limbo again, still waiting if they’re going to extend it.”

Davies says the family’s fees would have also quadrupled without the affordability grant — rising from roughly $450 per month per child to between $1,700 and $1,800.

That spike, she says, would have forced difficult decisions about whether she could continue working.

“My fees would have gone up so much that it would have made it really difficult for me as a woman to stay in the workforce.”

“I’ve worked really hard in my career to be where I am, so I’m grateful this lets me keep contributing to the Alberta economy,” she added.

The certainty provided by the original five-year federal-provincial agreement, signed in 2021, was key to her family’s planning.

Most provinces have since renewed for another multi-year term, but Alberta and Ontario have opted for one-year extensions.

“That’s what worries a lot of people. Every other province has done five years,” Davies said.

“Now we’re heading into more uncertainty again and it’s interesting that the renewal will be on an election year — it makes you wonder if that played into why they’re only doing one year.”

Davies also went on to say that the lack of information leading up to Thursday’s announcement had intensified stress for parents.

“One thing that’s been really frustrating has been reaching out to our MLAs and not getting any response.”

“I reached out to my MLA and to the education minister’s office and didn’t hear from either one of them. The silence made the anxiety worse.”

She adds that child-care costs remain a major barrier for many families, as wait lists continue to stretch months or years.

“It was really difficult finding a daycare initially. We were on the wait list with my daughter since I was pregnant,” Davies said.

“I only found out she got a space right before I had to go back to work. It was a huge relief.”

Extension buys time, not stability: operators

Some Alberta child-care operators say the extension protects families in the short term but does little to resolve structural problems that surfaced earlier this year.

“The first reaction I have is one of relief for parents,” said Calgary Downtown Daycare operator, Vidya Venkatraman.

“But it does just feel like a Band-Aid. Parents and operators would like something more long term. Five years was what we were hoping for.”

On May 15, the province announced it had reached its federally-funded cap for new for-profit child-care spaces, which left dozens of operators who were already building or preparing to open new centres suddenly ineligible for Canada-wide fee reductions.

The decision forced many private operators either to convert into not-for-profit entities or to charge families unsubsidized market rates.

That was the case for Venkatraman.

Her Calgary centre was already 75 per cent built when the province announced in May that the for-profit cap had been reached.

To avoid charging families four times more than other centres, she says she had to restructure and reapply as a not-for-profit.

“We need to know how the provincial government is making sure we don’t run into the same situation in March 2026,” she said.

“Licensing happens too late in the process. By the time we get told whether we qualify for the affordability grant, the facility is built, equipped and ready to open. That’s far too late.”

“We had to very quickly change gears,” she said. “We were applying as for-profit, and then we had to understand what not-for-profit meant financially and set that up while construction was underway. There was no going back.”

Venkatraman says many of the roughly 150 operators affected by the cap have pursued similar not-for-profit conversions to stay viable.

“Without the affordability grant, fees would be much higher and many parents couldn’t afford it,” she said.

“But the process can’t be like this again next year. Operators need clarity early.”

She added that some low-income families are still struggling after the province removed the traditional child-care subsidy program last spring, replacing it with a single flat parent rate of $326.50 per month per child.

“For many families living paycheque to paycheque, that subsidy made a real difference,” she said.

“The affordability grant is great, but we would like to see subsidies return too.”

Long-term national system

Thursday’s extension adds to roughly $4.3 billion in federal child-care funding already committed to Alberta since 2017.

Since 2021, Alberta has announced 51,000 new Canada-wide spaces, with a target of 68,700 by 2027.

The federal government says all provinces and territories have now extended child-care agreements to at least March 2027.

Ottawa will spend $27.1 billion nationally through those extensions in an effort to keep fees low and support new child-care infrastructure, especially in underserved communities.

Officials from both governments say they will continue negotiating a long-range agreement next year.

Davies says families are hoping that work leads to longer-lasting certainty.

“It’s very important for parents to have certainty,” she said.

“It helps us plan if we’re going to be able to work and what our future looks like. We’re grateful today, but we’re still waiting on more.”

Venkatraman said many operators feel the same.

“A one-year extension is better than nothing,” she said.

“But if Alberta is serious about expanding childcare, we need a clearer pathway forward for parents and for operators who are trying to build the spaces Alberta says it needs.”