Fees at regulated child-care centres on P.E.I. are set to drop in the new year, the province announced Friday.
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, fees will fall to $10-a-day for all Island children attending early years centres and licensed family home centres, according to a provincial news release.
The changes come as part of a federal-provincial agreement. During its election campaign this spring, the Progressive Conservatives promised to reduce child-care fees to $10 a day by the end of 2023.
Then, in the spring provincial budget, the King government promised to spend $4 million to get to $10 a day “before the end of this year.” The news release Friday confirmed the province’s additional spend in order to bring fees down.
The province said provincial subsidy and support programs will continue to cover fees for “many Island family’s.”
Over half of the provinces and territories in Canada are now offering regulated child care for an average of $10 a day or less, said Jenna Sudds, Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, in Friday’s news release.
With the coming changes, families on P.E.I. could save up to $4,170 per child each year, said Sudds.
