VICTORIA -- The province is promising to open nearly 340 new child care spaces on Vancouver Island, mostly in the Greater Victoria area.

The B.C. government plans to create 336 licenced spaces through nine projects in Greater Victoria, Sooke, North Saanich and Tahsis.

Some 210 child care spaces are slated to open in Greater Victoria, 62 are expected to open in Sooke, 56 are coming to North Saanich and eight will open in Tahsis.

“Having access to child care is fundamental for people to be able to take advantage of all the opportunities their communities have to offer,” said Michele Babchuk, MLA for North Island in a statement Tuesday.

“We know that having secure child care spaces is vital to the future of Tahsis, just like rural and remote communities everywhere.

Since July 2018, the B.C. government has funded roughly 20,000 new licenced child care spaces, including 1,630 in Greater Victoria, 213 in North Saanich and 84 in Sooke.

The nine child care facilities that are receiving the province's most recent round of funding are:

  • Crosstown Daycare Program (Victoria)
  • Sundance Elementary Childcare (Victoria)
  • Kids Klub Centre Lake Hill Site (Victoria)
  • Kids Klub Centre McKenzie School (Victoria)
  • Hillcrest Elementary Out of School Care and Ready Set Grow (Victoria)
  • Homey Land Daycare (Sooke)
  • Choo Choo, Let’s Go! Childcare Centre/Centre de Garde Inc. (Sooke)
  • Tseycum Childcare Centre (North Saanich)
  • Tahsis Child Care Centre (Tahsis)

Most of the projects are slated to open in 2022, though some are ready to open this year, while others are expected to open in 2023.

“These new child care spaces for families on Vancouver Island are bringing us one step closer to delivering the quality, affordable and inclusive child care that all B.C. families deserve,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care.

“Child care for families is key to B.C.’s economic recovery, and these new spaces will make it easier for parents, especially mothers who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, to return to work or school.”