The City of Burnaby will receive $7.4 million through ChildCareBC’s New Spaces Fund to support the development of a new 74-space child care centre on Rowan Avenue.
“Creating more child care spaces in our community is so important to help Burnaby’s young families thrive,” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “We’re grateful to the provincial and federal governments for demonstrating a shared commitment to continuing to create the child care Burnaby so urgently needs.”
The centre, currently under construction and scheduled to open in May 2025, will provide 50 spaces for children 30 months to school age, and 24 spaces for children under three years old (identified as the most underserved age group in Burnaby’s Child Care Action Plan). While priority will be provided to City and RCMP staff, the facility will also provide a significant number of spaces for community use.
In addition to contributing land for the facility, the City has budgeted $11.1 million for design and construction of the project.
“As a working mother of two, I know how important it is to have child care. Through ChildCareBC, our government has been working hard to create new child care spaces where families need them most,” said Anne Kang, MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake. “Ensuring police and other community members have the child care they need to allow them to do the work we rely on every day is vital. This new child care centre will not only support children and families but will make our community stronger as a whole.”
The ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund is jointly supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
”The new child care centre will make life more affordable for families in Burnaby, providing them with the flexibility and support they need while ensuring their kids get the best possible start in life,” said Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. “We will continue working hard to create more spots to get kids off waitlists and into high-quality, affordable child care in their communities.”
“As a father of two young daughters in daycare, I understand the importance of child care,” said Terry Beech, Member of Parliament for Burnaby North-Seymour and federal Minister of Citizens’ Services.
“After speaking with hundreds of Burnaby families, it’s clear how crucial affordable, high-quality child care is for our community. By increasing access to these services for frontline workers and City staff, we’re investing in Burnaby’s future. Reliable child care allows families to pursue their careers with greater flexibility and provides children with valuable early learning opportunities. The federal government is committed to working with municipal and provincial partners to ensure meaningful support for Burnaby families.”
Lower Mainland Purpose Society has been selected to operate the new facility on behalf of the City. Purpose Society has a well-established track record in providing quality care and is the operator of four of the City’s existing child care centres.
Burnaby is committed to delivering accessible, quality child care and making it straightforward for operators to open child care centres. The City is facilitating the creation of new child care spaces through two strategies: developing City-owned child care facilities operated by non-profit societies, and by partnering with the Burnaby School District to establish child care facilities on school sites in Burnaby.
City-owned sites currently provide a total of 257 quality licensed child care spaces for infants, toddlers, three-to-five-year-olds and school-aged children. Through the partnership with the Burnaby School District, a total of 247 new spaces have been completed, with more spaces scheduled.
Learn More: Burnaby.ca/ChildCare
Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to 2026