Families in Invermere will soon benefit from more affordable, high-quality child care, with 148 new licensed spaces opening on the grounds of Eileen Madson Primary school.

“This new child care centre in Invermere is a game-changer for families,” said Rohini Arora, B.C. parliamentary secretary for child care. “With these new spaces, more children will have a safe, nurturing place to play and learn, while empowering their parents to focus on their own professional and personal-development goals. We know that every dollar we invest in child care expansion strengthens our economy and builds a more resilient, prosperous future for all British Columbians.”

The Province partnered with the Rocky Mountain School District to create these new child care spaces through an investment of nearly $9 million from the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund. This fund is jointly supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the 2021-22 to 2025-26 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. British Columbia and the federal government have signed an extension to the agreement until 2030-31.

“Families in Invermere deserve access to affordable child care,” said Anna Gainey, federal Secretary of State for Children and Youth. “Together with British Columbia, we’re creating spaces where children can thrive and parents are supported. When children get the best start in life, families thrive and all Canadians benefit.”

This new child care centre will include 24 spaces for infants and toddlers, 100 spaces for children 30 months to school age, and 24 spaces for school-age children. These new spaces will be in addition to more than 500 child care spaces in Columbia Valley and the surrounding area funded through ChildCareBC programs, which help meet the needs of local families.

“The opening of the Rocky Mountain child care facility in Invermere is a proud moment for our district and community,” said Amber Byklum, chair, Rocky Mountain School District board of education. “Not only will the space provide safe and accessible child care, it will also lay the foundation for lifelong learning. Early childhood education is a critical stepping stone in a child’s development, and this facility will help ensure that our youngest learners are supported from the very start.”

When the new facility is open, families will benefit from affordable child care fees through the Province’s fee-reduction program, which reduces the cost of child care by as much as $900 per child per month.

“Securing a spot for our daughter in the new child care centre is life-changing for our family,” said Karolina Scheutzova. “Spaces are incredibly hard to come by and we were prepared to wait years. With both of us working, reliable child care isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. This opportunity means less stress, more stability and most importantly, more quality time together as a family.”

Since 2018, ChildCareBC’s space-creation programs have helped fund more than 41,500 new licensed child care spaces in B.C., with more than 26,200 of these spaces now open. Funding the creation of new child care spaces is part of the Province’s ChildCareBC plan to build access to affordable, quality and inclusive child care for families.

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Shannon Nickerson, parent –

“We are looking forward to this new centre opening and having the opportunity to send our child there. We are even more excited with it being so close to the school, as our older child has started kindergarten and this will allow us to keep our dropoffs and pickups in the same zone. We prioritize walking and biking to school and daycare whenever we can and having the daycare and school so close together allows us to keep doing so.”

 Quick Facts:

• ChildCareBC affordability programs are saving families throughout B.C. an average of $6,700 a year on child care fees at more than 160,000 spaces.
• Since 2018, ChildCareBC has kept more than $3 billion in the pockets of B.C. families.
• No matter what child-care option parents choose, the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) provides direct, tax-free support that helps approximately 3.5 million families every year, including more than 450,000 families in B.C.

Learn More

For more information about ChildCareBC, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare

More information about the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund is available at: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare/newspacesfund

For more information about the Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories/british-columbia-canada-wide-2021.html