New B.C. legislation would allow infant care and longer hours in school-based programs, easing pressure on working families across the province.
Province aims to boost care for families
The British Columbia government has introduced new legislation designed to make child care more accessible by extending services available on school grounds. The School Amendment Act, announced on October 7, 2025, would allow districts to offer care for infants and toddlers and to operate outside of regular school hours, including professional-development days and holidays.
Premier David Eby said the change reflects the realities of modern family life. “Our days don’t start at nine and end at three,” he told reporters. “Life is much more complicated than that.”
Legislation builds on pilot success
The initiative builds on earlier pilot projects in Chilliwack, Nanaimo-Ladysmith, and Nechako Lakes, where schools hosted child care before and after class. These programs helped demonstrate that school facilities can serve as safe, trusted spaces for early learning and care.
Education and Child Care Minister Lisa Beare said expanding school-based programs would make the best use of existing public infrastructure. “Public schools are community hubs,” she noted. “This is a step forward in our plan to increase spaces right across the province.”
Addressing cost and accessibility gaps
B.C. has struggled to meet its goal of universal $10-a-day child care, a signature promise of the NDP government. A July 2025 report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that only about 10 percent of the province’s spaces currently meet that affordability target.
The same report revealed that the five most expensive cities for infant care in Canada—Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, Burnaby, and Kelowna—are all in British Columbia. Rising fees have left many parents paying far more than the subsidized rate the province envisions.
Wages and workforce challenges
Advocates say low wages for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) are one of the biggest barriers to increasing supply. The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. recently pointed out that the provincial median wage remains about $29 per hour, making it difficult to retain qualified staff in high-cost regions.
That shortage has already forced some infant-toddler programs on the Sunshine Coast to close. “When educators can’t afford to live where they work, programs lose staff and families lose care,” the coalition said in a statement.
Concerns about space and strain
Not everyone supports the expansion. Heather Maahs, the B.C. Conservative critic for early childhood education, warned that using more school facilities for child care could stretch resources thin.
“As a former school board trustee, I know how limited classroom space already is,” Maahs said. She also called the $10-a-day model “unrealistic,” arguing that rate caps interfere with free-market principles and limit options for parents willing to pay more.
Next steps for the legislation
If passed, the School Amendment Act would empower school districts to integrate early-years care into existing sites, with flexibility to operate beyond traditional school hours. The province says it will work with local governments, Indigenous partners, and community organizations to determine where new spaces are needed most.
The legislation represents another move toward B.C.’s broader vision of affordable, universal child care—though experts caution that success will depend on recruitment, funding, and infrastructure. For now, parents struggling to bridge the gap between work and school schedules may soon see some long-awaited relief.
