The federal child care agreement behind BC's fee reductions, explained

If your child care fee is lower than the sticker price a centre first quoted, a federal-provincial agreement is usually why. Canada and BC signed an agreement in 2021 to bring fees down and build more licensed spaces, and it pays for two programs that show up on your invoice without you doing anything, plus a third one you apply for yourself. This is a plain description of what each part does and who has to act on it.

The agreement behind the programs

In July 2021, the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia signed the Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Canada agreed to send BC money each year, growing from $349.18 million in the first year to $910.70 million by 2025 to 2026, so the Province could lower child care fees and add licensed spaces for children under six.

The agreement set two goals a reader will see repeated across ChildCareBC materials: an average parent fee of $10 a day for regulated spaces for children aged zero to five, and 30,000 new licensed spaces for children under six by 2025 to 2026, growing to 40,000 by 2027 to 2028.

The Province reports that ChildCareBC investments have helped add nearly 59,000 licensed child care spaces in BC since 2018, as of a release dated 11 May 2026. That figure covers spaces created under the broader ChildCareBC strategy, not only this one federal agreement, so treat it as a strategy-wide count rather than a number attached to the agreement alone.

The original agreement was due to end 31 March 2026. Canada and BC have since signed an extension covering the fiscal years from 2026/27 through 2030/31, so the funding relationship continues rather than winding down at that date.

Two programs a family never applies for

Most of what a parent experiences as "government funding" comes from two programs that work through the child care provider, not through a form a family fills out.

The Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative

The Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, usually shortened to CCFRI, pays funding directly to a licensed provider each month, on the condition that the provider passes the savings on to families as a lower fee. The Province states plainly that families do not need to apply, because the reduction is already built into the price a participating centre charges.

It is not income tested. A family earning any amount gets the same reduction as any other family at that centre, for that age of child and type of care.

The dollar value depends on the child's age and the licence type. The Province lists reductions of up to $900 a month per child for group child care under 36 months, up to $600 a month for family child care under 36 months, up to $545 a month for group care from age three to kindergarten age, and smaller monthly amounts for kindergarten age children and school age children in group care. These figures are the maximum reduction the Province funds. What a family actually sees depends on that provider's own published fee and how much of the reduction it applies.

Participation is voluntary for a provider. The Province's own guidance for providers describes opting in as optional, and a provider applies for it at the same time it applies for Child Care Operating Funding. That means two licensed centres a few blocks apart can have different participation status, and there is no requirement that every licensed provider in BC join.

$10 a Day ChildCareBC

$10 a Day ChildCareBC is a separate, smaller program built on the same agreement. Rather than reducing a fee by a set dollar amount, it caps the fee outright at specific approved locations. The Province states that out of pocket fees at these sites will not go below $200 a month for full time care, with limited exceptions, which is where the $10 a day figure comes from when averaged across a month of care.

A provider applies to become an approved $10 a Day site. Families do not apply, and the program is not income tested, so any family can access an approved site's capped fee regardless of household earnings. What limits access is the number of approved sites and their own waitlists, not eligibility rules, since each location still manages its own openings the way any licensed provider does. Our post on how daycare waitlists work in BC covers how that works in practice, including for $10 a Day sites specifically.

Fee reduction initiative participation and $10 a Day approval are two different things, and a provider can hold one, the other, both, or neither. Being listed under one program does not tell you anything about the other. If a specific location's status matters to your decision, ask that provider directly, or check the Province's own $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres list rather than assuming from a centre's general reputation.

The one program you actually apply for

The Affordable Child Care Benefit is different from the two above in one important way: a family has to apply for it.

It is a monthly payment that further reduces what a family pays, layered on top of whatever the fee reduction initiative or $10 a Day already did to the base fee. It is income tested. The Province states households earning up to $111,000 a year may qualify for some level of benefit, with larger amounts available to lower income households and the benefit tapering down as income rises within that range.

A family applies online through the Province's My Family Services portal, or by paper form if applying online is not workable. Because this benefit is income based rather than tied to a specific provider, it can apply at any licensed or eligible unlicensed setting a family uses, not only at centres that participate in the fee reduction initiative.

A family can hold all three programs at once. A child at a centre that participates in the fee reduction initiative, whose family also qualifies for the Affordable Child Care Benefit, sees both reductions stacked on the same invoice. Applying for the benefit does not put the other two programs at risk, since they are administered separately.

Why the names do not tell you what each program does

Two of the three program names in this article describe a result rather than a mechanism, which is where a lot of confusion starts. "$10 a Day" sounds like every family's daily rate, but it is a monthly fee cap that applies only at approved sites, and the site has to apply for it, not the family. "Fee Reduction Initiative" sounds generic enough to apply to anything, but it is specifically the funding the Province pays a provider to hold fees down for every enrolled family, with no application and no income test.

Only the Affordable Child Care Benefit's name matches what it does: it is a benefit, applied for, that makes care more affordable for a specific household based on income.

The practical result is that a family cannot judge what they are receiving just by reading their invoice or hearing a program name mentioned. The way to know which programs actually applied to a fee is to ask the provider what it participates in, and to check the family's own application status for the benefit separately.

What this means if you are comparing centres

A family comparing licensed centres in Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, or Port Moody will often notice that published fees differ even for the same age group and similar hours. Fee reduction initiative participation is close to universal among BC licensed centres at this point, so it is rarely the detail that explains a real difference between two providers. What usually explains a gap is whether a specific location is an approved $10 a Day site, plus whatever a family's own Affordable Child Care Benefit application adds on top.

That means the useful questions to ask a centre are specific ones: does this location participate in the fee reduction initiative, is it an approved $10 a Day site, and what would the published fee be for your child's age and schedule before any benefit you might separately qualify for. A centre should be able to answer the first two plainly, since both are facts about that specific location rather than estimates.

This centre is listed as CCFRI participating in the Province's own Child Care Map open dataset, checked 12 September 2026. That dataset field is filled in by us as the operator and reflects our own reported status to the Province, not an independent audit of every centre's participation. $10 a Day status has not been checked against the Province's separate $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres list, so this article does not state one either way for this centre. Ask us directly, since it is exactly the kind of specific, checkable question this article is encouraging families to ask any provider.

A family's practical order of operations

For a family trying to work out what they will actually pay, a reasonable order is to first ask a shortlisted centre whether it participates in the fee reduction initiative and whether it is an approved $10 a Day site, since those two facts set the starting fee before anything else changes it. Second, check your own household's income against the Affordable Child Care Benefit's $111,000 threshold and apply if there is a reasonable chance you qualify, since the application itself costs nothing and a partial benefit is still a reduction. Third, ask the specific centre for a written estimate of your family's monthly fee once you know your child's age, the schedule you need, and whatever benefit level you expect, since a general published rate rarely accounts for all three programs at once.

None of this replaces asking a centre directly. Program rules change, dollar thresholds are periodically adjusted, and the roster of $10 a Day sites grows as new locations are approved. A number published on any website, this one included, should be checked against the Province's current page before a family relies on it for a real budget decision.

If you are also weighing when to start your search, our post on how daycare waitlists work in BC covers the timing side of finding a space, and our guide on child care tax receipts and the federal deduction covers what happens at tax time once your fee has already been reduced by these programs. Families planning a return to paid work after leave may also find our post on returning to work after parental leave in BC useful for lining up a start date against these funding decisions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement?

It is a funding agreement between the Government of Canada and the Province of BC, first signed in July 2021, that pays for lower child care fees and more licensed spaces in BC. Canada sends the Province money each year, and BC runs the programs families actually deal with, including the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and $10 a Day ChildCareBC. Canada and BC signed a renewal covering the fiscal years from 2026/27 through 2030/31.

Do I apply for the Canada-Wide agreement myself?

No. The agreement is between the two governments, not something a family applies to directly. What you can apply for is the Affordable Child Care Benefit, the one program under this agreement that is income tested and requires a family application. The other two, the fee reduction initiative and $10 a Day, work through the provider rather than through an application from you.

Which government agreement pays for the fee reduction initiative?

The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement between Canada and BC funds it. Canada sends money to the Province each year under that agreement, and the Province pays it out to licensed providers each month, on the condition that the provider passes the savings on to families through a lower fee. Families do not need to apply, since the reduction is already built into the fee a participating provider charges.

How much does the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative actually save a family?

The Province states the reduction can be worth up to $900 a month per child for group care under 36 months, up to $600 a month for family child care under 36 months, up to $545 a month for group care from age three to kindergarten, and smaller amounts for kindergarten and school-age care. The exact amount depends on the child's age and the type of licence, and it is set by the Province rather than by the individual provider.

What is $10 a Day ChildCareBC, and how is it different from the fee reduction initiative?

$10 a Day ChildCareBC is a separate list of specific approved locations where a family's fee is capped outright, rather than reduced by a set dollar amount. The Province states out of pocket fees at these sites will not go below $200 a month for full time care, with limited exceptions. A provider applies to become an approved $10 a Day site. Fee reduction initiative funding is broader and reaches many more licensed providers that are not on the $10 a Day list.

Is La Vie Est Belle Childcare Centre a $10 a Day site?

That has not been checked against the Province's own $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres list, so we are not stating a status here either way. Ask us directly, or check the Province's list yourself using the centre's name and address, since $10 a Day approval and fee reduction participation are separate programs and one does not tell you the other.

What is the Affordable Child Care Benefit, and who qualifies?

It is a monthly payment that further lowers a family's child care fee, on top of whatever the fee reduction initiative or $10 a Day already did. Unlike those two, it is income tested and requires an application. The Province states households earning up to $111,000 a year may qualify for some level of benefit, with the largest amounts going to lower income families. A family applies online through the Province's My Family Services portal or by paper form.

Can a family get all three programs at once?

Yes, and many families in BC do. The fee reduction initiative and $10 a Day both work through the provider and do not require a family application. The Affordable Child Care Benefit is layered on top for families who qualify by income, and applying for it does not affect eligibility for the other two. Ask a specific provider which of the first two it participates in, since that is set at the provider level.

Does a lower fee from these programs mean the quality of care is lower?

No. These programs change who pays and how much, not what a licensed provider is required to do. Every licensed centre in BC, participating or not, still has to meet the same Child Care Licensing Regulation for staff to child ratios, group sizes, and health and safety requirements. Fee reduction funding does not replace or lower a licensing standard.

How do I find out if a specific daycare participates in the fee reduction initiative?

Ask the provider directly, since participation is voluntary and not every licensed provider takes part. The Province's Child Care Map, an open dataset of licensed facilities across BC, also records whether a facility has reported participating, though a blank entry only means the field was not filled in rather than a confirmed no. Confirming with the provider itself is the more reliable step.

Before you visit

If you want a straight answer about what your family would actually pay here, ask us. We can tell you our fee reduction initiative participation, walk through your child's age and schedule, and point you to where to check $10 a Day status and apply for the Affordable Child Care Benefit if you have not already. Contact us to talk it through, or book a tour to see the centre while we go over it.