The B.C. government is investing more money to create new child-care spaces within schools, a development that could benefit Terrace residents who need child care services before and after school.
The province announced that the school districts in British Columbia will be able to receive funds to convert existing school spaces into child care centers as well as establish new spaces starting from fall 2026.
According to the Province, the Ministry of Infrastructure is allocating $5 million in capital funds to enable school districts to transform or convert existing spaces within their buildings.
Minister of Education and Child Care Lisa Beare highlighted that schools are already serving as community hubs, making them ideal for offering child care facilities.
“School districts have been clear; this support is critical to creating more child care spaces for families. Our government remains focused on building a child care system that works for families now and is sustainable long into the future.”
The funding is intended to speed up the creation of child care spaces without the need to build entirely new facilities.
Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said using existing school space is a faster and more cost-effective way to expand care options.
“Building stand-alone facilities can be costly and time-consuming. By making better use of space schools already have, this approach reduces barriers and encourages school districts to plan and invest in their current infrastructure. This program supports our work to find new ways of creating child care spaces and lessons learned from this program will allow government to creatively shape space creations moving forward.”
The announcement could have a local impact in Terrace, where demand for child care spaces has remained a challenge for many families.
The Province highlighted the Kitselas Childcare Centre as one of the projects helping expand care in the region. The centre has a total of 70 child care spaces, including facilities for toddlers between 30 months old to kindergarten, as well as children enrolled in school-age programs.
The province said families who utilize the new child care spaces will still be eligible for the reductions provided through the ChildCareBC program. This initiative aims at reducing costs by about $900 per child each month.
Over the past five years, about 59,000 licensed child-care spaces have been created through ChildCareBC across the province, with more than 12,000 spaces currently under construction.
