Child-care fees to go down in Sask. as province works towards $10-a-day goal

Parents of young children will get some relief from rising costs next year, as child-care fees in the province are set to drop by an average of 70 per cent from where they stood in early 2021.

According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the fee reduction in regulated child care is part of a roughly $1.1-billion investment through an agreement between the federal and provincial governments.

The fee reduction, which is to take effect Sept. 1, will see parent fees for regulated child care drop by an average of 70 per cent when compared to March of 2021, the provincial government said.

There are about 16,000 regulated child care spaces in the province for children under six, the government noted. With the newly announced fee reduction, the government said a family with an infant in full-time, regulated child care could expect to see their fees drop by $550 each month compared to January of 2022.

“I’m thrilled about the great progress that we are making towards reducing child-care fees in Saskatchewan,” Karina Gould, federal minister of families, children and social development, said in a statement.

Saskatchewan Education Minister Dustin Duncan said reducing fees is a great step, but there’s still more work ahead.

“With this latest fee reduction, we are one step closer to our goal of $10-a-day child care by 2025-26,” Duncan said in a statement.

“Fee reductions for regulated child care spaces is the latest way our government is putting more money back in the pockets of families across the province.”

According to the Saskatchewan government, fee reductions for parents represent $74 million in spending for 2022-23.