$10-a-day childcare coming to P.E.I. in January, says province

Fees at regulated child-care centres on P.E.I. are set to drop in  the new year, the province announced Friday.

Starting Jan. 1, 2024, fees will fall to $10-a-day for all Island children attending early years centres and licensed family home centres, according to a provincial news release.

The changes come as part of a federal-provincial agreement. Ministers for both levels of government attended the announcement Friday at a child-care centre in Charlottetown.

"Kids are going to be accessing quality, affordable, accessible child care," Education Minister Natalie Jameson said. "This might give families a reason to have another child."

With the new cost, Jameson said some parents may be able to go back to work or enter the workforce for the first time.

During its election campaign this spring, the Progressive Conservatives promised to reduce child-care fees to $10 a day by the end of 2023.

Then, in the spring provincial budget, the King government promised to spend $4 million to get to $10-a-day "before the end of this year." On Friday though, Jameson said the province added $6.2 million to the budget to reach that $10-a-day target. "We want all families to have access to that."

The province said provincial subsidy and support programs will continue to cover fees for "many Island family's."

Mariam Ali, a mother of three-year-old twins who attend the child-care centre where Friday's announcement took place, said paying current prices is "a big burden."

She and her husband work full time and he works from home, so leaving the kids with him isn't an option, she said.

They're happy they put their kids in child care but the decision comes at a cost, she said. "Every month, we have to calculate and count." She's "very happy," at the prospect of $10-a-day care, she said.

Over half of the provinces and territories in Canada are now offering regulated child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, said Jenna Sudds, Canada's .minister of families, children and social development, in Friday's news release.

With the coming changes, families on P.E.I. could save up to $4,170 per child each year, said Sudds.