Finding good-quality and affordable child care is a major ongoing problem for many families in the Lower Mainland, but not all cities share this burden equally.
According to a report presented at the Oct. 8 city council meeting in Pitt Meadows, the number of child-care spaces throughout Metro Vancouver is steadily on the rise.
Jonathan Cote, deputy general manager of regional planning and housing development for Metro Vancouver, explained that there are now an average of 25.1 spaces per 100 children in Metro Vancouver.
"The region is seeing a significant increase in child-care spaces," said Cote. "We've gone up about 36 per cent between 2019 and 2023."
While the entire region sits at a ratio of 25.1 spaces per 100 children, Pitt Meadows has a much higher number of 44.1 spaces.
Cote explained that with the city's total population of children 12 or younger being 2,858 and the number of licensed child-care spaces being 1,260, that the city has set itself up to be in a great position regarding its availability of child care.
"Pitt Meadows is doing very well when it comes to providing child care," said Cote.
"A lot of local governments in the Metro Vancouver area have developed a lot of really good supportive policies during this period. It's been a combination of the work that local governments have been doing but also further investments at the provincial and federal levels that have seen these increases."
Councillor Bob Meachen said that he was glad that Pitt Meadows ranked so highly on the child care report, especially after seeing the struggle that his own kids went through trying to find sufficient child care for his grandkids.
"I'm glad that Pitt Meadows is doing well in that regard and it certainly was a focus for mayor, council, and staff," said Meachen. "But it's still a big burden for families. The families that I know of today that are putting their kids into daycare, it's a big part of their family budget. That $10-a-day promise hasn't reached enough people yet."
