Alberta and federal governments to provide wage top-up for early childhood educators

Early childhood educators (ECE) in Alberta are getting a boost to their wages starting in the new year, the province said Thursday.

Those top-ups will increase by two dollars an hour, with the province saying this is to attract more ECEs and to keep them in the childcare sector. ECEs work with children from birth to the age of eight.

“The Government of Alberta supports parental choice in childcare and the workers who help provide it. This announcement will help retain staff who are currently caring for our children, and attract new workers in child care. Because every dollar matters, this one-time payment will provide affordability relief for these hardworking Albertans heading into Christmas and the new year,” Mickey Amery, Minister of Children’s Services, said in a statement.

The province is also providing a one-time payment of $900 for all ECEs that worked 30 hours-plus per week on average in October and November and who continue to work in December. Part-time workers or those averaging fewer than 30 hours per week are eligible for a $450 payment.

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Alberta’s government says the payments and top-up come from a $174 million investment from provincial and federal funding and will go through to the end of 2025-26.

The one-time payment is a federal investment of $13.3 million, while the province is investing $2.72 million for the same payments for ECEs working in out-of-school care programs.