ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund

The ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund prioritizes infant and toddler child care spaces, school age spaces and child care space in underserved regions. License types that serve infants and toddlers include Group Child Care (under 36 months) and Group Multi-Age Child Care.

• Understand the different types of child care in B.C.

The ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund prioritizes projects that create as many spaces throughout the province as possible. The program also priorities:

• Fully inclusive and accessible child care spaces that allow children of all abilities to participate meaningfully. For example: accessible physical design and application of program inclusion policy
• Spaces with non-standard hours of care, such as: extended hours of care from 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m., weekend care, care provided on statutory holidays and/or care provided on days of school closures
• Spaces offering specialized programming for children with support needs, Indigenous children and families, Francophone children, and/or young parents
• Under the Major Capital Grants funding stream, projects that commence within 6 months of application and are scheduled to be completed prior to March 31, 2028

The ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund prioritizes space creation projects serving priority populations including:

• Low-income families
• Children with support needs
• Indigenous children and families
• Black and other children and families of colour
• Francophone children
• Families new to Canada
• Young parents (25 years and under)

Major capital projects apply for funding under the Major Capital Grant. The grant supports major projects by providing funding during the design and construction phases of a project.

These projects are ground-up builds, modular builds and major renovations, including expansions and additions, requesting more than $500,000.

Applicants must own the land on which the proposed child care centre will be built. Indigenous Governing Entities are exempt from this requirement.

For grant recipients who intend to secure an authorized operator to run the child care centre, the lease between parties must not be greater than fair-market rent.

More information is available in the 2024-25 Major New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 778KB).

Not-for-profit organizations

• Not-for-profit organizations, including Indigenous not-for-profits, are required to be registered as a society in British Columbia under the Societies Act, as well as be operational for at least 4 years prior to application in order to qualify for a major capital grant
• Not-for-profit organizations that have been registered for less than 4 years, but have a minimum of 1 year with the B.C. Registry, are able to apply for funding for major capital projects up to $500,000 through the minor capital grants funding stream

Minor capital projects are renovations and equipment-only projects anticipated to be complete within one year, requesting up to $500,000. Applicants can own or lease the land on which the projects are being completed. 

Grant recipients leasing child care centres will be required to share a copy of the executed lease or letter of intent to lease and must demonstrate an arm's length relationship with the land owner.

More information is available in the 2024-25 Minor New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 770KB).

Not-for-profit organizations

Not-for-profit organizations, including Indigenous not-for-profits, are required to be registered as a society in British Columbia under the Societies Act, as well as be operational for at least 1 year prior to application in order to qualify for a minor capital grant.

Leased spaces

Leased spaces are eligible for funding under Minor Capital Funding only. A copy of the executed lease or letter of intent to lease is required and must demonstrate an arm's length relationship. The term of the lease agreement must meet or exceed the length of the service commitment or contain options to extend.  

Lease payments are not an eligible expense for funding under the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund. Any and all costs incurred prior to signing the Funding Agreement, with the exception of consulting services, are not considered for funding, including the down payment to secure a lease. Draft agreements are accepted and may be a viable option for applicants who do not wish to secure a location prior to funding approval.

Applications are evaluated based on their ability to demonstrate principles of universal and accessible design, and commitment to accessibility. 

In your response, include examples that support how the proposed facility incorporates these principles. This may include wheelchair ramps, inclusive bathroom design, and bathroom and stair hand rails etc. 

For resources and information on creating inclusive and accessible child care environments, refer to the following resources:

• Rick Hansen Foundation - Accessibility Resources
• Early Learning Framework
• Inclusion BC 
• Environment Rating Scales

Applications are evaluated on several criteria including years of experience in operating a child care centre and managing capital build projects.

Capital build experience refers to experience managing the development and ground-up builds of facilities or community amenities, such as playgrounds, skating rinks or community gardens. Applicants whose capital build experience includes child care builds, renovations or property acquisitions should include this information in their application.

The ministry considers capital build experience because organizations must navigate regulations, such as child care licensing and local government requirements, which can be challenging. While capital build experience is evaluated, providers who have limited experience are eligible to apply, especially if their proposal will meet other priorities and criteria.

Hiring experienced staff is important, however, it is the organization or identified operating partner that needs to show experience operating a child care centre.

In the space provided, demonstrate your experience managing staff, working with parents, purchasing equipment and supplies, etc.

While experience in child care will be evaluated, providers who have limited experience are encouraged to apply, especially if their proposal will meet other priorities and criteria.

Under the Major Capital Funding stream, at minimum a Class D Estimate accompanied by a detailed project budget must be included as part of the application. The Ministry uses the Class D estimate and detailed project budget to review project costs and contingencies instead of prioritizing at a cost per space.

A Class D cost estimate is a preliminary cost projection for a proposed project as determined by a third-party professional Quantity Surveyor at arm's length from the applicant. The estimate is typically expressed in analysis format, then summarized by cost per square meter. A Class D cost estimate must include identified site-specific conditions and potential risk items to complete the project. The requirement has been added under the major capital grant funding stream to ensure accuracy when determining the allocation of costs within the overall budget. It helps ensure site-specific conditions and any potential risk items have been identified to account for variances in unknown conditions that cannot be quantified or foreseen for the project. This may include abnormal topographical or sub-surface conditions, contaminated soils, municipal requirements or hazardous materials abatement. 

To mitigate potential budget and project risks, project budgets must identify a contingency amount based on a minimum Class D estimate that accounts for identified site-specific conditions and risk associated with the project.

Applicants need to provide documentation that identifies the community's need for child care. This may include a community child care plan or child care needs assessment. The plan should reference the centre's location and define the community need for more child care spaces.

Community need is determined by analyzing community demographics and child population, current child care availability in the community and an assessment of current and future child care space demands. The Ministry prioritizes applications that are able to demonstrate creation of child care spaces that align with the community's child care needs.

Before applying to the New Spaces Fund, applicants are encouraged to consult with local First Nations on their plans. This is one way to support development of projects that serve all members of the community and an opportunity to initiate or strengthen relationships with First Nations governments on whose territory the space is to be developed. 

If the community does not have an available Community Child Care Plan or Child Care Needs Assessment, the ministry will accept other documents that quantify and justify local child care needs. This may include current waitlist data, population data, utilization rates or a letter from a local official outlining community need.

For more information, refer to the funding guidelines.

• 2024-25 Major New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 778KB)
• 2024-25 Minor New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 770KB)

To mitigate potential budget and project risks:

• Major capital funding stream project budgets must identify a contingency amount based on a minimum Class D estimate that accounts for identified site-specific conditions and risk associated with the project
• Minor capital funding stream project budgets are required to include a contingency fund that represents at least 10% of the total project costs related to the child care build

Not-for-profit applicants to both the major and minor funding streams must provide proof of 10% of total project costs. This includes eligible expenses, ineligible expenses and contingency funds.

Loans and other funding contributions are considered as an organization's financial contribution. Volunteer contributions are excluded. The applicant must demonstrate that they have their contribution in place at the time of application.

Please contact program staff at 1-888-338-6622 (Option 5) to discuss what you need to provide in your submission.

Applications must be authentic and unique as they are evaluated based on their project's specific criteria.

For example, project specifics will depend on community to be served, geographic location, number of spaces and ages of children. To ensure accuracy in both evaluation and funding, the information provided by the applicant must be accurate to the project. This includes scope of work and child care centre spaces proposed in the application. 

Projects with known cost drivers, such as unique site development requirements and building in rural or remote locations, resulting in an overall higher project cost, may be subject to increased Ministry evaluation timelines due to additional levels of review.

Applicants must provide proof of final ownership of the facility at the time of application. This may be in the form of an agreement or contract signed by both parties showing the funding recipient as the owner.

Section 6.3 of the application form asks applicants to provide information about specialized programming to support the applicable demographic.

For example, if the application states that programming for Indigenous children will be provided, details on the specific programming or services must be included. If a question is checked "yes" with no additional information or supporting documentation, the response will be insufficient to fully complete the evaluation process.

Funding recipients submit quarterly reports using the Quarterly Report template according to the schedule in their funding agreement.

• Quarterly Report Template (PDF, 868KB)

The ministry may conduct random internal audits of ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund projects. Recipients are required to retain all financial records and proof of payment for seven years following project completion.

Retain proof of payment for all eligible project costs for financial reconciliation. Proof of payment should reflect the purchase of all eligible project costs and include the following components:

1. Receipts, such as transaction receipts, bank statements, copies of cheques, etc.
2. Invoices with zero-dollar balances or corresponding receipt of payment if applicable
3. Name of company or individual from which items or services were purchased
4. Date of purchase
5. Itemized description of the products purchased so that the ministry may determine eligibility

Proof of payment does not need to be submitted to the ministry at time of financial reconciliation. It must be provided to a Chartered Professional Accountant, or the organization’s authorized financial signatory as outlined in the signed funding agreement, who possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to certify the correctness and completeness of the itemized expense report.  

Funding recipients submit the completion report to the ministry within 60 days of project completion. The completion report includes the following:

Financial Reconciliation report

The Financial Reconciliation Form (PDF, 4MB) must be dated and signed by an authorized signatory of the organization certifying that the project has been completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications.

Itemized Expense report

The Itemized Expense Report (XLSX, 60KB) must be dated and signed by a Chartered Professional Accountant listing all eligible project costs incurred and paid by the funding recipient.

For governing bodies, the Itemized Expense report must be dated and signed by the organization’s approved financial signatory. This includes anyone who holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation or equivalent.

Community Care Facility License

All current Community Care Facility Licences issued under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act must be provided.

The ministry acknowledges that the construction sector has shifted resulting in increased costs. Project costs can vary based on the scope of the project, categories of care and the type of build. Value for money, including overall project costs and cost per space are an important factor in the ministry’s evaluation of project proposals. The ministry also considers program intent and policies for project proposals to maximize the number of spaces throughout British Columbia. At minimum, a Class D Estimate accompanied by a detailed project budget must be included as part of the application process under the major capital funding stream.

The ministry selects the most viable projects that meet the New Spaces Fund's key priorities. Specific types of organizations are not prioritized over others. Eligible organizations can apply to for major and minor capital project funding through the program. Leased spaces are eligible for funding under minor capital funding only, and owned spaces are eligible for both major and minor capital funding. 

We know that improving access for B.C. families requires long-term, sustainable growth that aligns with the capacity of the sector's workforce that is needed to deliver these important services. Learn more about how government is taking action to recruit and retain early childhood professionals and lift up the child care sector on the Support for Early Childhood Professionals web page. 

As a recipient of the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, the organization is obligated to maintain insurance with insurers licensed in Canada. The contractor will have their insurance and the recipient will need to secure insurance.

Once funding is approved and you begin your project, you will be required to obtain the required insurance detailed in Schedule D of the funding agreement. This includes course of construction insurance and wrap-up liability insurance from the start date of construction until the completion date. You must also complete the Certificate of Insurance, retain this document for your records and ensure it is available to the Province within 10 business days when requested. A broker will be able to assist you with obtaining insurance for your project.  

No, the intention of the New Spaces Fund is to create new licensed child care spaces. If the project is relocating and not creating new child care spaces, it does not qualify for funding. However, if the organization is moving to a new location to increase the number of spaces, it may be eligible. If the relocation is required due to emergency circumstances, it may be eligible for funding through the ChildCareBC Maintenance Fund.

Extending hours of school-aged care spaces to include before- and after-school care in addition to after-school care, does not create new spaces. If a project proposes before OR after school care only, the spaces are considered half spaces. A full-time licensed space offers a minimum of 4 hours care per day. 

For before and after school spaces, this means before-school space for 2 hours and an after school space for 2 hours, at minimum to count as a full time space.

Eligible project costs not listed on the approved budget that are incurred after signing the funding agreement can be listed in the final Completion Report and may be considered for funding at the Ministry's discretion. With the exception of consulting services, any costs incurred prior to signing the funding agreement are not eligible and will not be considered for funding. For more details, refer to the funding guidelines.

• 2024-25 Major New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 778KB)
• 2024-25 Minor New Spaces Fund Funding Guidelines (PDF, 770KB)

No. Rezoning applications do not need to be completed prior to applying. However, applicants should understand their local municipal, federal or Indigenous Governance requirements and have started any required rezoning process, or be aware of the rezoning rules and associated costs.