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Ottawa will provide an additional $1.17 billion to Alberta in order to extend the federal-provincial subsidized child-care program for another year.
The previous agreement was set to expire April 1, 2026. The new deal will run through March 31, 2027.
Federal Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu announced the new deal alongside Alberta Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides on Friday afternoon.
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While the cost savings for Alberta families have been described as life-changing, there have also been numerous criticisms of the deal from parents, daycare operators and day-home operators over the years, as Alberta's system has gone through numerous administrative changes since the deal was first struck.
Hajdu said there have been growing pains across the country as Canada tries to establish a more robust and consistent child-care system.
"It's not a perfect system yet, but I can tell you it's much better than nothing, which is what we had just a few years ago," Hajdu said.