The federal and Alberta governments have extended their early learning and child care agreements by one year until March 31, 2027.
The extension provides more than $1.17 billion in federal funding to Alberta for 2026-27 to support continued access to child care programs and help maintain $15-a-day parent fees for licensed early learning and child care.
The two governments will continue working toward long-term solutions for the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement to support the system beyond 2026-27.
Extension provides certainty for families
Patty Hajdu, minister of jobs and families, said affordable child care helps Alberta grow economically.
“When parents can find good, reliable child care, they can work, train or build a business,” said Hajdu. “In Alberta, lower fees are saving families thousands of dollars and keeping more people in the workforce.”
Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s minister of education and childcare, said the extension gives time to develop a new agreement while offering providers flexibility to continue creating new spaces where families need them most.
“We will keep pushing for a sustainable long-term agreement that respects Alberta’s jurisdiction and maintains affordable, accessible care for families,” said Nicolaides.
Infrastructure funding included
The extended Canada-wide agreement includes continued funding for the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Funding Agreement for an additional year until 2026-27. This will continue dedicated support to infrastructure projects in underserved communities.
The agreements build on approximately $4.3 billion already committed to Alberta through existing child care agreements since 2017.
All provinces and territories have extended their Canada-wide agreements until at least March 31, 2027.
Progress on new spaces
Since November 2021, 51,000 new Canada-wide early learning and child care spaces have been announced in Alberta, moving toward the goal of 68,700 new spaces by March 2027.
Families of approximately 900,000 children are benefiting from affordable and high-quality child care across the country. Eight provinces and territories are delivering regulated child care for an average of $10 a day or less, and all other jurisdictions have reduced fees by 50 per cent or more.
The federal government is providing a total of $27.1 billion through extended agreements to continue supporting access to early learning and child care programs and services across the country beyond March 2026.
