Prince George sees more licensed childcare spaces among northern B.C. expansion

Prince George is among the communities in northern B.C. that have seen an expansion of childcare spaces in the past few months.

The province announced it’s opened 154 new licensed childcare spaces this fall which were created in partnership with school districts for families in Prince George as well as Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson and Prince Rupert.

The new spaces were funded through the province's Child Care Rapid Renovation Fund, which provided approximately $11 million to non-profit groups, schools and other public-sector organizations to quickly create new childcare spaces.

This includes the nine childcare spaces that opened in September 2021 at Malaspina Childcare, 10 spaces that opened at Quinson Childcare, and another 10 at Nukko Lake Childcare in Prince George.

"The past 20 months have made it very clear that child care is more important than ever," said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care.

"On top of the uncertainty of the pandemic, parents had to juggle the stress of working from home while also caring for their kids or needing to make new childcare arrangements. Our Child Care Rapid Renovation Fund is one way we're quickly addressing the need for more affordable, quality child care spaces, while also funding long-term child care projects that will benefit families and communities for generations to come."

The Sunnyside Childcare Centre in Prince Rupert received $225,000 in funding from the Province to create 45 new group child care spaces and renovate and expand the child care facility.

"There is a huge need for child care in our community," said Katie Wahl, executive director, Sunnyside Child Care Centre.

"With the Child Card Rapid Renovation funding we were able to quickly create 45 after-school spaces to support families in our community needing care."

Other childcare spaces that have opened throughout northern B.C. this fall include YMCA École Frank Ross School Age Child Care in Dawson Creek with 24 spaces and Hillside Clubhouse in Fort Nelson with 56 spaces.

Including the 154 spaces in the north, the Child Care Rapid Renovation Fund supported the creation of 912 new licensed child care spaces in 20 communities throughout the province.