Five B.C. cities among Canada’s most expensive for daycare

Five B.C. cities rank as Canada’s most expensive for daycare by average daily cost, according to a recent Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report. Only 11 of the 35 Canadian cities included in the report had achieved daycare fees of $10 a day or less, despite the federal government’s $10-a-day goal.

Kelowna ranked fifth, with average daily costs of $28 for infants and $24 for preschool-aged children. Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby were more expensive; Richmond parents paid an average of $52 a day for infants and $42 for preschool-aged children.

In Kelowna, 18 per cent of daycare spaces cost $10 a day, while the highest-priced five per cent cost $38 a day. The report says B.C. parents have seen some of the smallest savings since 2019. It estimates that a $10-a-day system in Kelowna would save parents about $393 per child each month.