Alberta Child Care Fees and Subsidy for 2026–27

As of November 2026, if your child is kindergarten age or younger (and not in full-time kindergarten) and goes to a licensed daycare or family day home that gets Alberta’s affordability funding, you pay no more than $326.25 a month for full-time care (registered for 100 or more hours a month) or $230 a month for part-time care (50 to 99 hours), whatever your family’s income. On top of that, a program can charge only for optional services you choose and a few other fees, such as late-payment penalties. Income-tested subsidy now covers only children in full-time kindergarten to Grade 6 in care outside school hours, and the federal funding behind the flat fee is set only to March 31, 2027.

How much is the flat parent fee in 2026–27?

The fee depends on how many hours a month your child is registered to attend: the hours you expect them to attend, not counting vacation and sick days.

The province describes the full-time fee as about $15 a day. The amounts started on April 1, 2025, and the province’s 2026–27 Affordability Grant funding guide (version 5.1, June 5, 2026) keeps them. They are maximums: a program may charge less, for example if donations or fundraising cover the difference. You pay the fee to your program, not to the government.

Which children and programs get the flat fee?

• Licensed daycares and family day homes with a signed Affordability Grant agreement. Family day homes are funded through their licensed agency. Out-of-school care programs that look after kindergarten-age children during school hours charge the same flat fee for those children.
• Children kindergarten age and younger. A kindergarten-age child qualifies only for care during school hours.
• Full-time kindergarten ends the flat fee. The funding guide defines full-time kindergarten as five full days a week. Care before and after school for these children is out-of-school care, which may qualify for subsidy (see below). Children in part-time kindergarten, such as half days or alternating full days, still qualify if they need care during school hours for at least 50 hours a month.
• The summer before Grade 1 follows your child’s kindergarten status in June. A child who was in full-time kindergarten doesn’t get the flat fee in July and August but may qualify for subsidy. A child who was in part-time kindergarten, or none, gets the flat fee if registered for 50 or more hours a month at a funded program.
• Preschools work differently. A preschool sets its own monthly fee, which must include all additional fees, and lowers it by up to $100 per child per month. In the guide’s examples, a $125 preschool fee leaves the parent paying $25, and an $80 fee leaves the parent paying nothing.
• Out-of-school care for Grades 1 to 6 doesn’t get the flat fee. The program sets the price, and income-tested subsidy may help.

Not every licensed program charges the flat fee

New for-profit and non-profit licensing applicants are not eligible for affordability funding. The exceptions are narrow, such as a program opening under a Space Creation Grant or Building Blocks Grant agreement, or an existing funded program adding up to 20 spaces. The province says it keeps no waitlist for future funding and doesn’t expect to change eligibility before March 31, 2027. Programs without funding can still be licensed, but they set their own fees. So before you join a waitlist at a newly opened program, ask whether it charges the $326.25 flat fee.

If a program is sold to a new licence holder, its funding agreement doesn’t carry over; the new owner can sign a new one only in some cases, and never when a non-profit program is sold to a for-profit owner. If your program is changing hands, ask whether the flat fee will continue.

What do I pay in the first month, the last month or during an absence?

• First and last month. The fee follows the hours your child is expected to attend that month. In the guide’s example, a child who will usually attend full time but starts in the last week of a month is registered part time for that month, so the parent pays $230. If your child will attend fewer than 50 hours that month, the program gets no funding for it and sets the fee itself.
• Short absences, such as an illness or a two-week vacation, don’t change your fee, as long as your child attends some of their registered hours that month.
• A whole month away. If your child attends no hours in a calendar month, the program gets no funding for that month. It can ask you for a holding fee to keep the spot, and it sets that fee. The province can make an exception for a child kept away by a medical condition (with a note from a health professional) or by a public health order.

Can a daycare charge more than $326.25?

Only in limited ways, set out in the 2026–27 funding guide, the province’s Affordability Grant page and its Guiding Questions for Optional Services and Supplemental Parent Fees.

Optional services, if you opt in. The province’s examples: meals and snacks, transportation, field trips, on-site experiential learning, cultural activities, specialized classes, diapers and sunscreen, and extended-hours or overnight care (if the program is licensed for it).

• You choose each service separately. Programs can’t enrol you automatically, make you opt out, or bundle several services into one fee.
• A program can’t refuse or remove your child because you said no, or give priority to families who pay for extras. Your choice can’t decide which children are sent home when the program is short of staff, either.

Not allowed. Fees for administration, operations, equipment or other overhead. The province’s examples include child contract, nap, supply, technology, toy and value-add fees, and fees for curriculum or educator costs (such as wages, staffing ratios or a room with more highly certified educators). Nor can a program make every family pay a one-time or yearly fee while in care, such as an annual membership, registration or application fee. Family day home agencies can’t charge parents supplemental or agency fees; your educator can charge supplemental fees only for optional services outside the agency’s required program.

Fees outside the grant, at the program’s choice. Penalty fees for late pick-up, late payment or insufficient funds; fees before or after care or for a long absence, such as a one-time registration fee, deposit, holding fee or termination fee; convenience fees such as a credit card fee; and, at a non-profit, a society or fundraising fee.

If you were overcharged, the program must pay you back anything above $326.25 (full time) or $230 (part time), any supplemental fee for a service you didn’t opt into, and any fee for a service that isn’t an eligible optional service.

Extras add up: if a full-time program offers meals for an extra $100 a month and you opt in, you pay $426.25 a month instead of $326.25.

What to ask before you sign

• Do you have a signed 2026–27 Affordability Grant agreement, so the $326.25 or $230 fee applies to my child?
• How many hours a month will my child be registered for, and which fee does that put us in?
• What will I pay for the first and last month?
• What optional services do you offer, what does each cost, and can I say no to each one separately?
• What one-time, penalty or holding fees do you charge, and when?
• When my child starts full-time kindergarten, what will before- and after-school care cost?

Get every fee in writing before you enrol. The province’s checklist for visiting a childcare program also suggests asking for receipts and for the policy on how and when fees can change.

If you have a question about a fee, or think a program broke these rules, contact Childcare Connect, the province’s free helpline: 1-844-644-5165 or ChildCareConnect@gov.ab.ca (Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:30 pm, closed noon to 1 pm). It answers questions about providers’ optional services and fees and takes concerns and complaints about licensed programs. The funding guide says a parent who believes a program refused their child because they declined optional services can complain to the ministry.

To see what the government paid toward your fee, use the Alberta Childcare Family Portal. From May 2026 on, its monthly statements show what your provider charged, how much the government paid, how much you paid, and the attendance hours your provider reported. Your provider tells you when its program is added; you then get an email invitation and sign in with a verified Alberta.ca Account. The portal won’t ask for banking details.

What happened to Alberta’s child care subsidy?

Alberta announced the flat fee on January 30, 2025. From April 1, 2025, it replaced the Child Care Subsidy Program for children from birth to kindergarten age in care during regular school hours, so families with children these ages pay the same fee whatever their income.

Lower-income families who had been getting subsidy for children these ages lost it. A report released in November 2025 by the Muttart Foundation, prepared with the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta and the Alberta Early Learning and Care Leaders’ Caucus, found that at 25 of the 33 centres it studied, fees went up for all lower-income families. It concluded that regulated child care is unaffordable for families with the lowest incomes and for lower-income families with more than one child in care, and recommended bringing back a subsidy. As of November 11, 2026, the province offers subsidy only for full-time kindergarten to Grade 6, and we found no announcement that it will return for younger children.

Other help for lower-income families:

• Income Support and AISH. Income Support can include money for child care, and the funding guide says that when a parent gets child care benefits through Income Support or AISH, that program pays the parent portion of the fee. Ask Income Support or AISH whether you qualify.
• The Alberta Child and Family Benefit pays tax-free amounts to lower- and middle-income families with children under 18.
• Alberta Supports (1-877-644-9992) can tell you about other programs your family may qualify for.

Subsidy for out-of-school care

The Child Care Subsidy Program still helps with care outside school hours:

• Who: children 12 or younger in full-time kindergarten (five days a week) or Grades 1 to 6, with a secured spot in a licensed program, a family day home overseen by a licensed agency, or a group family child care program. You and your spouse or partner must be working or looking for work, going to school, or have special needs, or have a child with special needs. Residency and status rules are on the subsidy page.
• Income: total family income under $90,000 a year: line 15000 of the latest CRA Notice of Assessment for you and your spouse or partner, minus education deductions (line 32000) and medical deductions (lines 33099 and 33199). If your income dropped recently, you can ask for an assessment based on estimates.
• How much: it depends on income, grade, type of program and hours, and it’s paid to your program on your behalf. Your child must attend the minimum hours shown to get the maximum rate.

As of November 2026, the maximum monthly rates are:

• Summer: if your child in Grades 1 to 6 already gets subsidy and attends more hours in July and August, the rate rises automatically to the kindergarten amounts, which are based on 100 or more hours a month (for example, from $366 to $644 at a facility-based program for incomes under $50,000). It drops back in September.
• Extended hours: an extra $100 a month per child if your child needs 4 or more hours of care outside 6 am to 6 pm, or on weekends, in a month, at a program approved for extended hours.
• Applying: apply online with an Alberta.ca Account through the subsidy page, and complete the Declaration and Canada Revenue Agency Consent form if you haven’t before. You can apply as early as the month before care starts (for a September 1 start, from August 1). Subsidy can’t start before the month the province receives your completed application, so don’t wait. The subsidy page also has an online estimator.
• Help: Alberta Supports Contact Centre, 1-877-644-9992 (780-644-9992 in Edmonton).

What happens after March 31, 2027?

The flat fee is paid for under the Canada–Alberta child care agreements, which were set to expire on March 31, 2026. On December 12, 2025, Alberta announced a one-year extension, with $1.17 billion from Ottawa for 2026–27. It keeps fees at $15 a day for daycare and family day homes, and preschool savings of up to $100 a month, through the 2026–27 year, which ends on March 31, 2027.

Alberta’s announcement said the two governments would keep working toward a new agreement over the year, and that Alberta wants one that doesn’t discriminate between non-profit and for-profit providers.

What isn’t announced yet. As of November 11, 2026, the province’s federal-provincial agreement page and its child care news show no new long-term agreement and no parent fees for after March 31, 2027. The $326.25 and $230 fees are confirmed only to that date. Keep an eye on that page through the winter.

How do I check a program’s licence and inspection record?

Use the province’s free childcare lookup tools: Childcare Search shows each licensed program and family day home agency with 18 months of non-compliance history, and other tools check an educator’s certification and administrative penalties. The public notices page lists programs ordered to close, probationary licences and public health orders, and links Alberta Health Services’ inspection reports, which cover the last three years.

childcaring.ca lists about 2,450 licensed Alberta programs from the province’s licensing data (an early-2025 snapshot). Program pages show the most recent inspection date and a count of reported non-compliance issues. They don’t show whether a program has affordability funding, so ask the program, and confirm licence details on Childcare Search, which is the official record. Browse Calgary, Edmonton or every Alberta city on Alberta Child Care, and see How to get a daycare spot for waitlist tips. For other help with costs, see What Is Canada Child Benefit? and our guide to claiming child care costs on your taxes.

Sources

• Government of Alberta, Childcare fees: $326.25 (100+ hours) and $230 (50 to 99 hours) flat fees; who isn’t eligible (no funding, under 50 hours, full-time kindergarten or older); flat $15 a day since April 1, 2025; fees paid to the provider; examples of optional services; Childcare Connect for questions about optional services and fees; preschools up to $100; out-of-school care and subsidy; Alberta Supports and the Alberta Child and Family Benefit.
• Government of Alberta, Affordability Grant: fee bands and the under-50-hours rule; out-of-school care for kindergarten-age children during school hours; opt-in for each optional service and no preferential access; extended-hours and overnight care; preschool fees; new licensing applicants not eligible, exceptions, no waitlist and no eligibility change expected before March 31, 2027; sales and change of ownership.
• Government of Alberta, Alberta Child Care Affordability Grant Funding Guide, version 5.1 (June 5, 2026): 2026–27 maximum fees and registration rules; programs may charge less; full-time kindergarten (five full days a week), part-time kindergarten and summer rules; preschool examples; first and last month; absences and holding fees; optional-service rules, no overhead fees, penalty fees, family day home rules; reimbursement of overcharges; complaints about refused enrolment; Income Support and AISH; Childcare Connect email; Appendix D lists of optional services and ineligible fees.
• Government of Alberta, Guiding Questions for Optional Services and Supplemental Parent Fees: allowed optional services; ineligible fees (child contract, nap, supply, technology, toy and value-add fees; curriculum; educator costs; mandatory one-time or annual fees during care); fees outside the grant; family day home agency fees; staff-shortage rule.
• Government of Alberta, Child Care Subsidy Program: eligibility, $90,000 income limit and how income is counted, maximum rates, summer and extended-hours rates, how and when to apply, Declaration and Canada Revenue Agency Consent form, estimator, Alberta Supports Contact Centre.
• Government of Alberta, news release, Introducing $15 a day child care for families (January 30, 2025): the flat fee from April 1, 2025, replacing subsidy for children up to kindergarten age in care during school hours.
• Government of Alberta, news release, Child care agreement extended (December 12, 2025), and Federal-provincial childcare agreement: one-year, $1.17-billion extension of agreements set to expire March 31, 2026; $15-a-day fees and preschool savings kept; work toward a new agreement; Alberta’s position on non-profit and for-profit providers; no long-term agreement or post-March 2027 fees posted as of November 11, 2026 (also checked against the child care news list on alberta.ca/childcare).
• Government of Alberta, Alberta Childcare Family Portal: monthly funding statements from May 2026, what they show, how to sign in.
• Government of Alberta, Contact us for parents and families and Report an incident or concern: Childcare Connect phone, hours and what it handles.
• Government of Alberta, Income Support: what you get: Income Support can include money for child care.
• Muttart Foundation, An Assessment of the Impact of Affordability Funding Changes on Lower-Income Families and their Access to Regulated Child Care (November 2025), prepared with the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta and the Alberta Early Learning and Care Leaders’ Caucus: fee increases for all lower-income families at 25 of 33 centres; unaffordability for the lowest-income families and for lower-income families with more than one child in care; recommendation to bring back a subsidy.
• Government of Alberta, Childcare lookup tools, Find childcare and Childcare public notices: Childcare Search and what it shows; educator and penalty lookups; public notices; Alberta Health Services inspection reports covering three years.
• Government of Alberta, Checklist for visiting a childcare program (January 22, 2026): posted licence and inspection report; fee questions to ask.

Last checked: November 11, 2026.