Thirty-seven new licensed child care spaces are coming to Fernie, giving more families in the area access to high-quality, affordable child care.
The new centre will have 12 spaces for infants and toddlers and 25 spots for children aged 12 and under. Funding of these new spaces is part of ChildCareBC’s plan to provide affordable, quality and inclusive child care for families.
When the new centre opens, Fernie families will benefit from ChildCareBC’s Fee Reduction Program, which can reduce childcare costs by up to $900 a month per child. According to the province, the affordability programs save B.C. families an average of $6,700 annually on fees.
The centre will be added to the existing construction of the new Fernie Elementary School. The expansion is being made possible by nearly $8 million from the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund. The fund is supported by both provincial and federal resources under the Canada-B.C. Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which has been extended from 2026–27 to 2030–31.
When asked if there’s any plans for more childcare coming in the East Kootenays, Doug McPhee, Board Chair for School District 5 had this to say.
“Fingers crossed, we are putting together a business plan for the replacement of Amy Woodland School, and the wishes of Rocky Mountain Métis in establishing a daycare in Cranbrook that would go very nicely on that property and be of a great asset to the families in that community and that area.” Said Board Chair McPhee.
Since 2018 ChildCareBC’s space creation programs have funded over 42,200 new licensed child care spaces with 27,700 already open and in use. Between new spaces and fee reduction ChildCareBC has helped keep over $3 billion in the pockets of BC families since 2018.
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