Childcare pricing in Alberta confuses almost everybody, and that is not the parents’ fault. The rules changed in 2025, most of the guides online still describe the old system, and the one thing families most want to know — what will I actually be billed — is usually the hardest number to find.
Here is the current picture, in plain English.
Daycare: one flat fee
Since 1 April 2025, Alberta has set a flat monthly parent fee for licensed daycare programmes that take part in the provincial affordability grant. It is $326.25 a month for a child in full-time care.
You do not apply for this and there is no paperwork. If a centre participates — we do, at both of ours — the figure is simply what you are billed.
At Exploring Wonders every daycare family pays that same $326.25, whether their child comes two days a week or five.
This replaced the old system, and that is the source of most of the confusion still floating around. There used to be a fee cap with a subsidy applied on top of it. There is no longer a second discount to chase for a daycare space — the affordability funding is already inside the number.
The part most guides get wrong
Out of School Care is not covered by the flat fee. Alberta’s own guidance is explicit: out-of-school care is funded differently, and fees vary by provider.
So if your child is six and needs care before and after school, $326.25 is not your number, no matter how many websites imply that it is. Call the centre and ask. We will tell you the real figure for the days you need.
Where subsidy still applies
The provincial childcare subsidy is a separate programme, and it is aimed at school-age care. It covers children from kindergarten to grade 6, for licensed care outside regular school hours, in households earning under $90,000 a year.
The application is online at alberta.ca/child-care-subsidy. It is not difficult, but it is easy to stall on. Bring it to us and we will go through it with you — it is the same paperwork we handle every month.
What the monthly fee includes, and what it does not
At Exploring Wonders the fee covers your child’s programme and daily care, and all learning materials, activities and community outings. There is no registration fee and no supply fee.
Lunch is not included. We cook a nutritional lunch on site, but it is charged separately from the monthly fee — ask the centre for the current rate, or send lunch from home instead. Either way you send a morning and an afternoon snack, indoor shoes, a change of clothes, and seasonal outdoor gear.
That is the whole list. We would rather you knew before you enrolled than after.
The honest caveat
These figures reflect the 2026 programme year. Alberta has changed the agreement before and will change it again — the 2026/27 grant agreements hold parent fees where they are, but that is a decision the province makes, not us. When it moves, we tell families in writing first.
Still working out what you would pay? Ask us — tell us your child’s age and the days you need, and we will give you the real number. No obligation, and no pressure to enrol.