New daycare spaces are coming to 30 communities across B.C., the province announced Wednesday.
Nearly $11.3 million will be invested in the Child Care Major Capital Funding Program to create 1,818 new child-care spaces.
“We’ve placed priority on projects that will bring child-care spaces to underserved communities, communities where there’s high demand like Surrey, Vancouver, Prince George and right here in Burnaby,” said Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux. “We also put an emphasis on spaces that are located on school grounds to help kids transition smoothly.”
Cadieux made the announcement from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, where the BCIT Student Association Child Care Centre will receive $500,000 for 25 new spaces for children aged three to five, and 12 spaces for infants.
"Burnaby is a growing community, and many families here are looking for child care,” said Burnaby North MLA Richard T. Lee in a release. “The BCIT child care centre already has a great reputation in the community, so I know these additional spaces will be in high demand."
Vancouver will receive $1.08 million for 110 spaces and Surrey will receive $1.2 million for 280 spaces. There are currently 111,000 licensed child-care spaces in B.C. and the province plans to add 13,000 more by 2020.
This announcement comes the day after the provincial government released an online child care map.
To find licensed daycares in your area, click here.
