P.E.I. to launch $10-a-day child care next month

Prince Edward Island has announced $10-a-day child care will roll out in the province Jan. 1, 2024, more than a year ahead of the 2026 target.

The announcement Friday morning, at a daycare and training facility at Holland College, promised $10-a-day child care for all kids in the province’s 72 designated early years centres and 13 family home centres.

However, 10 non-designated daycares, which represent roughly a tenth of the child-care spots in the province, are not included. Natalie Jamieson, minister of education and early years, said they are working to ultimately bring all child-care providers into the fold.

“We’re going to bridge them, to ensure that they have funding and supports in place to get them to that point, because, again, we really recognise the importance of ensuring that all families have access to this 10 dollars a day,” said Jamieson.

Friday’s announcement means more than 60 per cent of the eligible kids in P.E.I. will have a $10-a-day spot at a provincially regulated child-care centre.

Jamieson said they’re happy with the progress they’ve made, but they understand there’s still work to do to increase the overall available childcare spots on P.E.I.

P.E.I. announced $10-a-day child care fees on Dec. 15, 2023. (Source: Government of Prince Edward Island)

“We have to work on creating more spots, so those individuals that currently don’t have access to child care, whether it’s undesignated or designated, that we have a spot for them in the future,” said Jamieson.

She said in the last couple of years they’ve added 500 spots and are committed to creating 300 more in the next 18 months.

The province has budgeted $6.2 million dollars in spending over the next year to pay for the program, which is expected to save parents about $4,170 per child per year.

For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.