Canada – Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement - 2021 to 2026

2.1 Objectives

2.1.1 Canada and Alberta commit to the following objectives:

• affordability:
  • Alberta commits to using federal funding to reduce out-of-pocket parent fees for licensed ELCC spaces for children 0 to K by an average of 50% from 2019 levels by the end of 2022
  • Alberta commits to using federal funding to reduce out-of-pocket parent fees for full-time licensed ELCC spaces for children 0 to K to an average of $10 per day by the end of fiscal year 2025 to 2026
• access:
  • Alberta commits to using federal funding to increase the number of licensed child care spaces for children 0 to K. In creating these child care spaces Alberta agrees that:
    • federal funding to create 42,500 new child care spaces will be used exclusively to support licensed child care delivery in not-for-profit and public child care providers, as well as family-based child care
    • as per section 2.2.1 c), federal funding to create spaces for children 0 to K will be used to support licensed child care delivery in for-profit providers. The implementation committee described in section 6 will develop and propose a For-Profit Expansion Plan, including a cost control framework as described in section 6.3, for approval by Alberta and Canada. While the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework is being developed, up to approximately 1,500 for profit spaces that are already planned and ready to come online shortly could be created and eligible for federal funding under this Agreement. In addition, 1,000 more spaces could be created by existing providers within existing facilities; the providers of these 1,000 spaces will be eligible for federal funding referred to under this Agreement, except for the space creation support described in Alberta’s action plan
  • spaces will be exclusively created in the regulated child care sector, delivered by licensed providers
• quality:
  • Alberta commits to use federal funds to:
    • continue to develop and implement evidence-based quality frameworks, standards, and tools for early learning and child care
    • continue to use Alberta’s existing wage scale, which includes wage top-ups for early childhood educators (ECEs) as part of this Agreement
    • increase the percentage of child care workers providing regulated child care in the province who fully meet Alberta’s certification requirements to at least 60% and by at least 15 percentage points by fiscal year 2025 to 2026, whichever leads to a greater percentage
• inclusive:
  • Alberta commits that new space creation ensures diverse and/or vulnerable children and families, including those referenced in section 2.2.5, have equitable access to child care spaces, in proportion to their presence in the population of Alberta
  • in supporting inclusive child care, Alberta commits:
    • to track the number of inclusive spaces with inclusive programming created/converted as well as the annual public expenditures on child care programming dedicated to children from diverse and/or vulnerable families
• data sharing and reporting:
  • Alberta commits to share financial and administrative data as outlined in section 5 to measure progress on achieving objectives outlined in this Agreement

2.1.2 Alberta’s approach to achieving these objectives is set out in its action plan attached as Annex 2.

2.2 Eligible areas of investment

2.2.1 Alberta agrees to use funds provided by Canada under this Agreement to support the expansion of licensed child care, and prioritize not-for-profit (including publically delivered and family day home child care) early learning and child care programs and services,for children 0 to K, where:

1. licensed programs and services are defined as those that meet standards that are established and/or monitored by Alberta
2. not-for-profit providers/operations, which includes publically delivered operations, are defined as those that provide child care services to a community for a purpose other than generating a profit, typically improving family and/or child well being and/or development. Providers may generate a profit, but the surplus earnings, or other resources, are directed towards improving child care services rather than distributed for the personal benefit of owners, members, investors or to enhance asset growth. Early learning and child care programs and services are defined as those supporting direct care and early learning for children in settings including, but not limited to, regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, early learning centres, preschools and nursery schools
3. subject to sections 2.1.1 and 6.3, for-profit providers that are already licensed or in the process of becoming licensed at the time of this Agreement are eligible for federal funding referred to under this Agreement. This includes funding for the creation and operation of new spaces once the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework described in section 6.3 has been developed and agreed to by Canada and Alberta

2.2.2 In developing and delivering its ELCC programs and services, Alberta agrees to take into account the needs of official language minority communities in its jurisdiction.

2.2.3 Acceptable investments under this Agreement may include, but are not limited to: capital and operating funding, including wage scales for licensed ELCC; fee subsidies; training, professional development and support for the early childhood workforce; quality assurance; parent information and referrals; and certain administration costs incurred by Alberta to support the growth and expansion of the child care system, and the implementation and administration of this Agreement.

2.2.4 Canada and Alberta also agree to promote, define, and deliver innovative approaches through Alberta’s mixed model system to enhance the quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility, and inclusivity of ELCC systems, with consideration for those more in need.

2.2.5 Canada and Alberta agree that funding will be targeted toward licensed programs and activities, as described above, for children age 0 to K, that will have an impact on families, including families more in need such as lower-income families, Indigenous families, lone-parent families, and families in underserved communities, including Black and racialized families; families of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports; and families with caregivers who are working non-standard hours. Needs also include having limited or no access to ELCC programs and services in the children’s official language.

3.2 Canada-Alberta Canada-wide early learning and child care bilateral agreement extension provisions

3.2.1 Extension of this Agreement beyond March 31, 2026 will provide Alberta and Canada the opportunity to review and course correct, if required, and realign new priorities in future Agreements based on progress made to date.

3.2.2 In the event this Agreement between Canada and Alberta is extended in accordance with the terms of section 3.2.1, Alberta may continue to use funding provided to cover the same eligible areas of investment as those covered through funding received for the period of fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 subject to the terms and conditions of that extended Agreement.

4.2 Allocation to Alberta

4.2.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada has designated the following maximum amounts to be transferred in total to all provinces and territories under this initiative with a fixed base rate of $2 million per year for each province and territory and the balance of the funding on a per child (0 to 12) basis for the period starting on April 1, 2021 and ending on March 31, 2026. This funding includes financial commitments made as part of the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements.

1. $2,948,082,433 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021
2. $4,489,349,839 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2022
3. $5,538,345,183 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2023
4. $6,492,201,954 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2024
5. $7,718,943,823 for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2025

4.2.2 Subject to annual adjustment based on the formula described in section 4.2.3, Alberta’s estimated projected share of the amounts described in section 4.2.1 will be:

* The notional allocations for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 use Statistics Canada’s population estimates as at July 1st 2020. Notional allocations for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 are calculated based on Statistics Canada’s longer-term population growth models using the Medium Growth M1 Population Growth Scenario from the previous fiscal year.

4.2.3 The final amount to be paid to Alberta for the fiscal year will be calculated using the formula F x K/L plus $2 million, where:

• F is the annual total funding amount transferred to provinces and territories for the fiscal year minus the base funding from all provinces and territories
• K is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in Alberta on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada
• L is the total population of children aged 0 to 12 on July 1 of that fiscal year, as determined using population estimates from Statistics Canada.

4.2.4 For the purposes of the formula in section 4.2.3, the population of children aged 0 to 12 for Alberta for each fiscal year and the total population of children aged 0 to 12 in all provinces and territories for that fiscal year are the respective populations as determined on the basis of the preliminary estimates of the respective populations on July 1 of that fiscal year. These estimates are released by Statistics Canada in September of each fiscal year.

4.3 In this Agreement, “fiscal year” means the period commencing on April 1 of any calendar year and terminating on March 31 of the immediately following calendar year.

4.4 Payment

4.4.1 Subject to Parliamentary approval of appropriations, Canada’s contribution will be paid in approximately equal semi-annual installments as follows:

• in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the first installment will be paid within 60 days after the signatures from both Parties are affixed to the Agreement. The second installment will be paid within 30 days after the first installment has been paid
• beginning in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the first installment will be paid on or about June 15 of each fiscal year. The second installment will be paid on or about November 15 of each fiscal year once conditions in section 5.2 are satisfied

4.4.2 The amount of the first installment will be an amount equal to 50% of the total amount of Canada’s maximum contribution to Alberta for the fiscal year, which will be calculated using Statistics Canada 0 to 12 population estimates from the previous year.

4.4.3 The amount of the second installment will be an amount equal to the balance of Canada’s contribution to Alberta for the fiscal year based on the actual amount of the contribution determined under sections 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 for the fiscal year.

4.4.4 Canada will notify Alberta at the beginning of the fiscal year of Alberta’s notional amount. The actual amount will be based on the Statistics Canada preliminary children (0 to 12) population estimates on July 1 of the preceding fiscal year.

4.4.5 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment for a fiscal year and may withhold future installments if Canada has not received from Alberta all information requested under section 4.4.7 for the payment of its second installment from the previous fiscal year.

4.4.6 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold amounts payable in respect of fiscal year if Alberta is unable to meet the objectives of the Agreement, in accordance with section 2.0.

4.4.7 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Canada shall withhold payment of its second installment for that fiscal year and may withhold future installments until Alberta provides an annual progress report outlining data and results achieved from the previous fiscal year in accordance with section 5.2.2 (a) and its annual audited financial statement of the previous fiscal year in accordance with section 5.2.2(c).

4.4.8 Beginning in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, should Canada not agree to the For-Profit Expansion Plan and the cost control framework described under section 6.3, the federal Minister and the Alberta Minister will come together to determine alternative uses of the funding in line with the objectives outlined in section 2.1.1.

The following amounts will be held by Canada until such time as the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework described under section 6.3 has been developed and agreed to by Canada and Alberta, or Canada has agreed to alternative uses of the funding in line with objectives outlined in section 2.1.1 following discussions by the Ministers:

1. $44,864,000 for fiscal year 2023 to 2024
2. $55,123,000 for fiscal year 2024 to 2025
3. $59,155,000 for fiscal year 2025 to 2026

4.4.9 In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Canada shall withhold payment of its first installment, and may withhold future installments, if Canada has not received and agreed to Alberta’s action plan for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026, in accordance with requirements outlined in section 5.1.

4.4.10 The sum of both semi-annual installments constitutes a final payment and is not subject to any further adjustment once the second installment of that fiscal year has been paid, unless there is a debt due to Canada, which requires repayment in accordance with section 4.7.

4.4.11 Payment of Canada’s funding for each fiscal year of this Agreement is subject to an annual appropriation by the Parliament of Canada for this purpose. Likewise, use of the funding by Alberta is subject to an annual appropriation by Alberta’s Legislature.

4.5 Maximum annual contribution in respect of administration costs

4.5.1 Canada’s contribution in respect of Alberta’s administration costs referred to in section 2.2.3 shall not exceed:

• in the fiscal years covered under this Agreement an amount up to 10% of the maximum amount payable for those fiscal years

4.6 Carry Forward

4.6.1 Starting in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, at the request of Alberta, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, Alberta may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Alberta’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 70% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 70% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.2 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, at the request of Alberta, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, Alberta may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Alberta’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 35% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 35% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.3 Starting in fiscal year 2023 to 2024 and for each subsequent fiscal year remaining in the Agreement, at the request of Alberta, and subject to approval of Canada’s Treasury Board, Alberta may retain and carry forward to the following fiscal year any unexpended funds remaining from Alberta’s annual contribution payable under section 4.2, up to a maximum of 10% of the contribution payable. Any unexpended funds in excess of 10% of the contribution payable represents an overpayment subject to section 4.7.

4.6.4 Alberta may only use the amount carried forward to the following fiscal year for expenditures on eligible areas of investment made under section 2.2 incurred that fiscal year.

4.6.5 For greater certainty, any amount carried forward under section 4.6.1 through 4.6.3 is supplementary to the maximum amount payable to Alberta under section 4.2 of this Agreement during the fiscal year in which the funding is carried forward.

4.6.6 All amounts carried forward to the next fiscal year, pursuant to section 4.6.1 through 4.6.3 must be spent by the end of that fiscal year. Alberta is not entitled to retain any such carried forward amounts that remain unexpended after the end of that fiscal year, nor is it entitled to retain any balance of Canada’s contribution payable pursuant to section 4.2 that remains unexpended at the end of that fiscal year and is not carried forward in accordance with section 4.6.1 through 4.6.3. Such amounts are considered debts due to Canada and shall be repaid in accordance with section 4.7.

4.7 Repayment of overpayment

4.7.1 In the event payments made to Alberta exceed the amount to which Alberta is entitled under the Agreement and/or unexpended funding is in excess of the carry forward allowance, the amount of the excess is a debt due to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada upon receipt of notice to do so. Alberta agrees to, unless otherwise agreed, repay the amount within 60 calendar days of written notice from Canada.

4.7.2 Canada shall, in addition to any other remedies available, have the right to recover the debt by deducting or setting-off the amount of the debt from any future contribution payable to Alberta under this Agreement.

4.8 Use of funds

4.8.1 Canada and Alberta agree that funds provided under this Agreement will only be used by Alberta in accordance with the areas for investment outlined in section 2.2 of this Agreement.

4.8.2 Canada and Alberta agree that, within each fiscal year of the period of this Agreement, Alberta may move funding between the individual programming categories outlined in its action plan in Annex 2 to ensure the maximum use of funding. Alberta agrees to notify Canada in writing of any such change in funding allocation, including the rationale for the change. The change will be implemented upon agreement between Canada and Alberta.

4.8.3 Canada and Alberta agree that funds provided under this Agreement will not displace existing provincial spending in place on or before March 31, 2021.

5.1 Action plan

5.1.1 Alberta has completed and shared its action plan for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and fiscal year 2022 to 2023 (Annex 2). Subsequently, Alberta will provide an action plan for fiscal years 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 by the beginning of fiscal year 2023 to 2024. Alberta will publicly release their action plan which:

1. outlines an implementation plan towards achieving objectives set out in section 1.0, including priority areas for investment, and targets by indicator, within the multilateral framework’s parameters
2. identifies specific targets for each indicator that will be reported on annually for tracking progress in relation to the objectives set out under section 2.1.1, and as outlined in its action plan in Annex 2, which includes the following indicators:
   1. total number of ELCC spaces available during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for profit/not-for-profit/public regulated child care centres, regulated family day homes, etc.)
   2. the number of net new spaces created during the fiscal year, broken down by age groups of child and type of setting (for example, for profit/not-for-profit/public regulated child care centres, regulated family child care homes, etc.)
   3. total number of inclusive (as defined in section 2.1.1) spaces created/converted, broken down by age group of child and type of setting
   4. average daily parental out-of-pocket fee for regulated child care spaces at the end of each fiscal year, including at the beginning of fiscal year 2021 to 2022 and at the end of December 2022
   5. number of children 0 to K receiving fee subsidies, broken down by families receiving partial and full subsidies
   6. number or proportion of child care service providers who provide services that are adapted to the needs of children with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports
   7. number and percentage of staff working in regulated child care programs in Alberta who fully meet the province’s certification/educational requirements
   8. annual public expenditure on training and professional development of the early childhood workforce
   9. wages of the early childhood workforce according to the categories of certification, including any wage enhancements, top-ups and/or supplements
3. Alberta will investigate the production of the following indicators over the course of the Agreement and agrees to share the results with Canada:
   1. number and proportion of children 0 to K in flexible regulated ELCC arrangements and number and proportion of centres/providers that provide flexible arrangements (for example, non-traditional arrangements such as flexible or irregular hours, weekend and emergency services; and geographic distribution of spaces)
   2. number of children 0 to K with disabilities and children needing enhanced or individual supports that are in regulated ELCC spaces
   3. number of Indigenous children under age 6 years in regulated ELCC spaces, distinction-based (First Nations, Inuit, Metis) where possible
   4. number of racialized children, including Black children 0 to K in regulated ELCC spaces
4. identifies additional jurisdiction-specific indicators for tracking progress in relation to the objectives of the Agreement
5. describes how Alberta plans to address the ELCC needs of its children/families more in need, as described in section 2.2.5
   1. if available, number and proportion of children under age 6 and 6 to 12 years from families more in need that are in regulated ELCC spaces
6. outline any additional available information to be reported annually that may be useful, including:
   1. information about unmet demand to access regulated ELCC spaces
   2. total child care subsidies provided by parents’ income level
   3. average child-to-staff ratio among licensed child care service providers
   4. total annual investment in ELCC
7. Alberta will share with Canada the results of any consultation undertaken during implementation of the action plans developed under this Agreement. This could include a description of consultation processes referred to in section 5.2.2, the type of groups consulted and annual priorities related to stakeholder feedback
8. Alberta will consult with parents, child care providers, experts, Indigenous peoples, official language minority communities and other interested parties as an important step in developing and revising its action plan. Alberta will outline the results of consultations in its action plan as well as through its annual reporting

5.1.2 By the beginning of fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Alberta agrees to share with Canada its fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026 action plan. The action plan shall include the elements described in section 5.1.1 a) to h), as well as the details of the For-Profit Expansion Plan and the cost control framework described under section 6.3. Once the Parties agree that the action plan is final, the action plan may be published by 1 or both of the Parties and Canada will be able to provide Alberta with its first payment for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 according to section 4.4.

5.1.3 Should Canada have not agreed to the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework described under section 6.3, Canada may withhold a portion of funding as outlined in section 4.4.8 until such time as the criteria in section 6 are satisfied.

5.2 Reporting

5.2.1 In the first fiscal year, Alberta agrees to provide baseline data on indicators set out in their action plan as soon as possible after the Parties sign this Agreement.

5.2.2 Starting in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, by no later than October 1 of each fiscal year during the Period of this Agreement, Alberta agrees to:

1. provide to Canada an annual report in the format and manner decided jointly by Canada and Alberta. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and shall include:
   1. description of the activities, expenditures and results of the Agreement as set out in Annex 2
   2. results achieved in working towards Canada’s vision for Canada-wide ELCC set out in this Agreement, including average child care fees and progress toward the average 50% reduction in fees by the end of 2022 and reaching an average fee of $10 per day by fiscal year 2025 to 2026
   3. results achieved according to the indicators and targets referred to in Annex 2
   4. the impact on families more in need, as described in section 2.2.5, including progress toward specific Alberta targets as described in Annex 2, such as the numbers of inclusive spaces supported by federal funding and by category
   5. additional available information to be reported annually that would be useful to assess progress
   6. description of any results of relevant consultation processes, the type of groups consulted and annual priorities related to stakeholder feedback referred to in Annex 2
   7. any additional results of an annual child care census as per section 5.2.2 (e) and any relevant evaluation activities undertaken in the fiscal year under this Agreement, as available
2. continue to provide Canada data obtained under section 5.2.2 to develop the annual National Progress Report
3. provide to Canada an audited financial statement of revenues received from Canada under this Agreement during each fiscal year, indicating:
   1. the revenue section of the statement shall show the amount received from Canada under this Agreement during the fiscal year
   2. the total amount of funding used for ELCC programs and services under section 2.2
   3. the administration costs incurred by Alberta in developing and administering ELCC programs under section 2.2.3
   4. if applicable, the amount of any amount carried forward by Alberta under section 4.6
   5. if applicable, the amount of any surplus funds that are to be repaid to Canada under section 4.7
   The financial statement shall be prepared in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the audit shall be performed by the Alberta Auditor General or his/her delegate, or by an independent public accounting firm registered under the laws of Alberta and shall be conducted in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards.
4. Canada and Alberta recognize the importance of reporting to the public on results achieved under this Agreement. Within 365 days of the end of each fiscal year during the period of this Agreement, Alberta may report to the people of Alberta, and will share with Canada, the results and expenditures of ELCC programs and services. The report shall show separately the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Agreement and be consistent with the annual report outlined under section 5.2.2 (a)
5. to inform reporting on results related to Alberta’s action plan, where Alberta undertakes an annual census of child care providers and other participants in the sector in Alberta to collect information such as information provided under section 5.1.1, Alberta agrees to share that information with Canada. Costs of undertaking such a census would be eligible expenses under this Agreement, to the maximum set out in section 4.5.1

5.2.3 Respecting advance notice provisions as outlined in section 7 of this Agreement, Canada, with prior notice to Alberta, may incorporate all or any part or parts of the annual report described under section 5.2.2 (a) into any public report that Canada may prepare for its own purposes, including any reports to the Parliament of Canada or reports that may be made public.

5.3 Audit

5.3.1 Alberta will ensure that expenditure information presented in the annual report is, in accordance with Alberta’s standard accounting practices, complete and accurate.

5.4 Evaluation

5.4.1 Alberta is responsible for evaluating its early learning and child care programs and services. As per established policies and processes with respect to program effectiveness, Alberta will evaluate programs and services receiving funds provided under this Agreement and make public the results of any such evaluations.

5.4.2 Should Canada undertake an evaluation of the outcomes, impact and effectiveness of the funding provided under this Agreement, Alberta agrees to jointly participate and provide available information under 5.2.2(a) and (c) required by Canada. Evaluation results will be made available to the public.

9.2 Waiver

9.2.1 Failure by any Party to exercise any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement or its delay to do so does not constitute a waiver of those rights, powers, or remedies. Any waiver by either Party of any of its rights, powers, or remedies under this Agreement must be in writing; and, such a waiver does not constitute a continuing waiver unless it is so explicitly stated.

Introduction

This action plan affirms that we will meet the goal of $10 per day on average in licensed and regulated child care for all Alberta families by the end of 2026. Our plan focuses primarily on children aged 0 to Kindergarten (“K”) in child care and preschool. “Kindergarten”, as defined in Alberta’s Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation, includes 5 and 6 year olds not yet eligible for grade 1, which begins in September. Our plan also ensures that families with older children will not be excluded through continued support of the recently signed bilateral agreement. This plan respects the unique needs of Alberta’s parents and our mixed market system. Our plan fully uses the federal government commitment of approximately $3.8 billion over the next 5 years to support expanding accessible, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care that works for Alberta’s families.

Our plan is premised on the following principles:

• federal investments in child care need to honour the province’s jurisdiction to set policy and priorities for licensed and regulated child care
• families should have choice when deciding what type of licensed and regulated child care best meets their needs
• a plan to expand access to licensed and regulated child care needs to be sustainable over the long-term
• access to affordable, high quality child care is a cornerstone of our economic recovery and should be available to families with preschool children
• focus first on those who are most in need and/or who will benefit the most, also ensuring these dollars have the greatest possible economic impact
• Alberta has a unique mixed market system of licensed and regulated child care providers including private (for profit) and not-for-profit, all of whom will play a critical role in achieving these goals

Alberta will place a priority on building the capacity of the not-for-profit providers and will continue to leverage the capacity and expertise of private providers over time, through the development of a framework that will enable them to fully participate in all aspects of the plan once the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework are agreed by the federal government.

Due to the recovery efforts required to support the sector coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta may re-align investments as approved by the federal government to support the child care sector and targets may be readjusted.

In June 2021, there were approximately 2,206 licensed child care programs across the province with a total of 82,261 children aged 0 to 12 enrolled. In facility-based programs (daycare and out of school care), approximately 31,900 children ages 0 to K attended a child care program full time and 14,665 children ages 0 to K attended part time. In June 2021, approximately 7,894 children attended preschool. For family day home and group family child care programs, approximately 5,574 children aged 0 to K attended full time and approximately 2,881 children aged 0 to K attended part time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, programs have averaged 50% enrollment based on their licensed capacity.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons

* Spaces in home-based child care programs are not regulated to age specific allocations.

Affordability

Alberta supports the goal of making licensed and regulated child care more affordable without compromising access to high quality child care, especially for those parents who need it most.

Alberta is unequivocally committed to reducing fees to an average of $10 per day in all licensed spaces over the next 5 years. One pillar of our approach is to work with operators towards the average of $10 per day child care by 2026 through operational grants, while also utilizing the current subsidy system with a significant threshold increase in year 1 (fiscal year 2021 to 2022). Given that funding increases over time, each province will need to target funding in some way. In Alberta, this plan will have the greatest immediate economic impact for parents – and women – especially those impacted most throughout the pandemic, in the first few years.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons

Alberta’s plan includes different components of funding support grants: the Subsidy Program; the operational grants, which will allocate a grant per enrolled licensed space, with increased funding for infant spaces to reduce fees and incentivize spaces dedicated to children under 19 months and an operational childcare grant to support fixed costs and further support costs of spaces for atypical or overnight hours.

At the outset, Alberta’s plan on affordability will apply to families participating in licensed child care, including not for profit programs as well as to private programs that are already licensed or are already planned and ready to come online shortly at the time of this Agreement. Once the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework developed by the Implementation Committee have been agreed to by the federal government, families participating in licensed child care in newly created private programs will also benefit from the affordability funding.

Access

Space creation must be responsive to economic growth and recovery, and offer the level of flexibility that Alberta families require. Given this is only a 5-year commitment, spaces must be sustainable. Enrolment in Alberta currently hovers around 55%, and was around 80% prior to the pandemic.

Alberta commits to creating spaces at a rate that matches enrolment changes. Our plan is also responsive to populations with extra needs including infants, children with disabilities, other vulnerable children, those in rural and remote communities, as well as select daycare deserts.

Through space creation initiatives underway, we are creating 1,500 new licensed and regulated child care spaces in fiscal year 2021 to 2022. Alberta will leverage our current approach to expand and create more spaces through the federal funding. We will work with communities and partners to enhance access to high quality child care in areas where it is needed most. Building on existing and establishing new partnerships, where necessary, will ensure that child care in Alberta is reflective of the diverse communities and specific needs in our province.

Alberta will look for opportunities to expand in a way that focuses on spaces for children aged 0 to kindergarten, but supports all child care types and providers to best meet the needs of Alberta families in our mixed market system. Based on definitions used by the Government of Canada, 44% of spaces in Alberta are considered non-profit (includes family based and public providers) and 56% of spaces are privately operated; and many by female entrepreneurs who provide high quality care that should not be excluded from participating in space creation or other initiatives.

Alberta commits to creating a minimum of 42,500 not for profit spaces over the next 5 years.

Alberta will prioritize not for profit space creation in year 2 and build in private sector space creation starting in year 3 of the Agreement once the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework have been developed by the Implementation Committee and agreed to by the federal government for receipt of federal funds for private operators. These operators will be able to fully participate in all aspects of the Alberta action plan no later than fiscal year 2023 to 2024, provided the For-Profit Expansion Plan and cost control framework developed by the Implementation Committee have been agreed to by the federal government.

Alberta will work with providers of all types, including non-profit operators and community agencies, municipalities, faith-based and cultural organizations, as well as educational facilities, to create spaces starting in areas of high especially important in rural and remote communities.

Alberta will also consider how it may incentivize unlicensed child care to join a licensed agency. Alberta has had several space creation initiatives spanning the last 12 years, providing historical data on Alberta’s ability to create new spaces. While Alberta has been successful in creating new child care spaces, the targets in this plan will require aggressive expansion efforts. Coupled with a requirement to ensure there is an adequate workforce to staff new spaces, Alberta will continue to explore how to address these demands.

This allocation of funding per-space will enhance not-for-profit programs’ capacity to meet the range of responsibilities required to build new spaces and expand their services. Space creation funding will be available, on an application basis, to offset the costs of planning, renovations, and purchasing supplies, equipment and toys. This cost per space represents an average per space. These new spaces will also support children with specific learning, linguistic, cultural and other needs, as well as provide flexibility for families who need drop-in and 24-hour child care.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons.

By fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Alberta makes a commitment to increase the net number of regulated spaces for children 0 to K by 42,500, of which 80 to 90% are anticipated to be in center-based programs.

Quality

Alberta values the emphasis on safeguarding quality in licensed and regulated child care, and believes this can be achieved by investing in, expanding and developing the child care workforce. Our plan will continue to expand existing investments in quality frameworks and standards, professional development, skills training, and improved certification levels of our early childhood educator (ECE) workforce.

Alberta requires that all staff working directly with children in licensed facility-based programs are certified in 1 of the 3 levels of certification.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons.

In December 2020, approximately 15,570 certified child care staff were employed in the child care sector. In June 2021, the number decreased to approximately 13,172 certified child care staff. Pre-pandemic, there were over 18,000 staff working in the sector (18,818 in March 2020).

Alberta supports its early childhood educator workforce through an effective and long-standing wage top-up model that serves as a salary grid and provides all certified ECEs in licensed facility-based and home-based child care programs with a wage enhancement. Alberta’s wage top-up program is currently designed to align with certification levels and, together with Alberta’s minimum wage, will serve as a grid to ensure a base salary to all certified early childhood educators:

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons.

* Operators may provide higher wages or address regional issues, but this is the base salary for an educator for this level.

In Alberta, all staff providing direct care in a licensed child care are required to hold child care certification, or become certified with 6 months of employment. Our legislation ensures this expectation will remain for all new spaces created. Alberta’s Early Learning and Child Care Regulation also provides a mechanism to allow temporary exemption of certification requirements, for example filling a Director position while the individual completes certification for the position, which will help facilitate space growth while staff work toward advancing their certification level.

Alberta commits to increasing the certification in our workforce – in particular, increasing the percentage of child care workers providing regulated child care in the province who fully meet Alberta’s certification requirements to at least 60% and by at least 15 percentage points by fiscal year 2025 to 2026, whichever leads to a greater percentage the number of ECEs certification in levels 2 and 3 by 15% – by supporting staff in leveling up their certification as well increasing the total number of ECEs to meet the demand of new spaces. To do this, Alberta will collaborate with the Ministry of Advanced Education to address capacity in our post-secondary institutions to train new educators to meet these targets.

Alberta will maintain current spending levels for wage top-up support throughout the duration of this Agreement to ensure the existing child care workforce can access the base salary, and into the future ELCC funding will be used to support the increased workforce accessing the base salary. Federal funding will also help expand hours that can be claimed for wage top-ups to include administrative and planning time that increases quality programming.

We are confident that these investments will support a stable, high quality early learning and child care workforce and our economic recovery. Over the course of the Agreement, Alberta will commit to exploring increases to the wage top-up program and other benefit considerations to the grid that will help recruit and retain high-quality, trained educators.

Alberta’s licensing standards also contribute to its high-quality child care. In the summer of 2020, Alberta conducted significant consultations with Albertans to better understand the needs of child care programs, families and child care workers. From this consultation, new legislation was introduced in February 1, 2021, the Early Learning and Child Care Act and Regulation that ensures health, safety and quality as well as flexibility, which enables both ongoing viability of existing spaces as well as the creation of new ones. Accreditation standards were included in the regulatory updates to ensure high quality in all licensed child care programs.

The new Early Learning and Child Care Act sets a strong legislative foundation for high-quality early learning child care through the Principles and Matters to be Considered, which establish the overall direction for child care licensing in Alberta. The Principles and Matters to be Considered emphasize health, safety, quality and flexibility.

All licensed facility-based and family day home agencies are required to submit a program plan that demonstrates how they will implement the Principles and Matters to be Considered. This includes a description of the program’s child care curriculum or learning framework and how the program will meet the developmental needs of children. Program plans must be approved by a licensing staff, and if submitted plans are not adequate or if questions arise, programs will make further revisions to their plans to meet the requirement of the legislation. Licensing staff actively monitor programs to ensure compliance with their approved program plans.

Alberta supports FLIGHT, an early learning and child care framework. Many programs have chosen to include this curriculum framework as part of their program philosophy, while other programs have adopted or developed other comparable curriculums, which provides parents with choice and operators flexibility to offer unique learning opportunities. Alberta plans to expand the FLIGHT curriculum with new modules and an online course, making it more accessible for child care programs. This framework is evidence-based and designed to increase child development outcomes and the quality of early learning and child care programs by enabling educators to maximize learning and development opportunities using children’s play and care experiences. It is a guide for early childhood educators to use in their everyday work with young children and their families.

Alberta will enhance access to professional and skills development for its ECE workforce, as well as child care program resources, by providing training in numerous areas that support quality. This includes, but is not limited to: Brain Story Certification, early childhood development screening and resources, mental health first aid and infant mental health training, and nutrition and physical literacy. Alberta will also invest in supports for staff release time, which includes paying a staff’s wages for education and training and/or pay for a staff to have a cover-off to enhance ECEs’ ability to participate in training, professional development, and further education to advance their certification levels.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons.

* The annual funding for “Professional development and ECE supports” is repeated in these cells for accessibility reasons. Total funding for “Professional development and ECE supports” for the period 2021 to 2026 is: $4 million in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, $73.54 million in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, $73.54 million in fiscal year 2023 to 2024, $73.54 million in fiscal year 2024 to 2025 and $73.54 million in fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Alberta commits to providing ECEs with a base salary, including a wage top-up aligned with their certification level. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Alberta commits to expanding the implementation of evidence-based quality frameworks, standards, tools for early learning and child care. In fiscal year 2023 to 2024 to fiscal year 2025 to 2026, Alberta commits to providing ECEs with professional development opportunities that increase knowledge and certification level. Alberta commits to providing ECEs with funds and or cover-off to complete development courses.

Quality funding will be invested in both existing programs and newly created spaces/programs created in Alberta.

Inclusion

Alberta commits to develop and fund a plan to ensure that vulnerable children and children from diverse populations, including but not limited to children living in low income; Indigenous children; Black and other racialized children; children of newcomers to Canada, and official language minorities, have equitable access to regulated child care spaces, in proportion to their presence in the population. Through this plan, Alberta will work toward inclusive and equitable spaces that are responsive to Alberta’s diverse communities and will fund a plan of new space creation through operational grants and other targeted cultural programming supports to existing programs. Alberta will also work towards providing children in Alberta that have specific cultural or support needs with equitable access to regulated child care spaces.

Alberta’s Inclusive Child Care (ICC) program, established in fiscal year 2020-2021, is an innovative program that supports inclusivity in programs by supporting children with diverse needs (such as children with disabilities, children experiencing trauma, children experiencing behavioural challenges, and children from newcomer communities) using a capacity building model that involves onsite consultation, training, coaching and increased one on one support for children with the highest level of needs. Consultants support child care staff to learn and adopt inclusive practices and identify specific strategies to support children. The framework is built on an evidence-based consultation model for early childhood settings and the Pyramid Model framework, which promotes young children’s healthy social and emotional development. The federal funds will allow the province to significantly expand this model to support up to 2,000 children and 800 programs per year, a growth in access of about 45% for children, and 25% for programs.

Outside of child care and early learning programs supported through the Ministry of Children’s Services, Alberta provides services to children through the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program. The FSCD program, which is administered through the Ministry of Community and Social Services works with families to develop a service plan that identifies strategies, services, and supports to address each individual child’s and family’s unique circumstances. These services can include funding for extraordinary child care needs.

In the context of early learning and child care in Alberta, the Ministry of Education also provides early childhood services to children 0 to 6 that include both pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programming, dedicated to children who require additional supports. Early childhood services refers to the broad, coordinated system of local and provincial programs that meet the developmental and special education needs of young children and their families. Kindergarten refers specifically to the education program for children in the year prior to Grade 1.

Through the workforce strategy funded through federal investments in fiscal year 2021-2022, Alberta will continue to invest in a culturally responsive workforce through enhancing access to cultural resources for staff and programs to better support under-served populations. These groups will include but not be limited to children living in low income, Indigenous children, children of newcomers to Canada, Black and other racialized children, as well as linguistic Francophone Canadians. In the future years of this Agreement and as Alberta’s child care system grows, Alberta commits to leverage these initial investments under the workforce strategy to continue to strengthen the cultural programming provided to children.

In collaboration with the Francophone Secretariat, Alberta commits to engaging with the French-language community to better understand child care needs and identify opportunities and encourage proposals to enhance space creation for this community.

Alberta will work collaboratively with Indigenous organizations in Alberta to develop an approach that will support Indigenous children in Alberta in having access to culturally-appropriate, quality, affordable child care. This will include developing an engagement plan with cultural knowledge keepers, communities, and experts for advice and participation in creating meaningful and relevant resources for programs. Alberta looks forward to further consider the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (IELCC) Framework in order to better understand the opportunity to partner and build upon other strategies.

Alberta has many innovative and inclusive child care programs, which will be leveraged as new spaces are created. An example of an innovative child care program, focused on Indigenous children and families, is Opokaa’sin, located in Lethbridge, Alberta. They have interwoven many initiatives within their program that supports learning grounded in culture and language, which have resulted in an increased sense of belonging and identity. Staff are supported by taking Indigenous Awareness Training, through lunch and learn sessions, and by having the support of Indigenous Resource Workers in child care rooms. As a result, staff greet children with common phrases using the Blackfoot language. Elders attend child care rooms in person and virtually, to share important knowledge and ensure cultural continuity. They lead storytelling in the Blackfoot language, conduct ceremonies, traditional face painting, Blackfoot prayer and smudging, drum making, and other traditional handicraft activities. These culturally specific practices interwoven into the program promote and bring awareness to cultural diversity and have helped children connect to their traditional culture.

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Inclusion funding will be invested in both existing programs and newly created spaces/programs created in Alberta.

Administration

The Canada-wide ELCC (CW-ELCC) Agreement provides for administrative funding of up to 10% of the maximum annual allocation to support costs incurred by Alberta to support the growth, expansion, implementation and administration of the CW-ELCC Agreement. Alberta will invest this funding in several areas in the first 2 years of the Agreement, with further investments to follow in years 3 to 5. For example, Alberta will invest in staffing resources to inspect new child care programs, plan and implement space creation programs; IT systems to deliver the policy changes, for example subsidy, operational grants, professional development funding, wage top-ups, inclusive child care; system enhancements to support data collection to build the evidence base; program and policy development and accountability.

Note: This table was changed for accessibility reasons.