Working mom of two Jen Boyter says she was shocked when she pulled out a letter from her child’s backpack informing her that their daily daycare rates would be going up significantly.

Her kids attend Stepping Stone Preschool and Child Care Centre in Kingston, N.S., where she’s been paying $12 per day for her one-year-old and $13.75 per day for her toddler.

Last week, she was informed that starting April 1, parent fees would increase to $22 and $19.75 per day, respectively.

“It means less savings, less wiggle room if something goes wrong,” Boyter said in an interview. “It’s a pretty significant impact on our family, and I know from the reaction of others around … it’s going to hurt a lot of families.” 

Stepping Stone was purchased by the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education (NSCECE) in August 2025. The college is a not-for-profit organization that provides education to early childhood educators, and runs a series of child-care centres across the province.

The provincial Department of Education is providing $2.5 million to the NSCECE to expand its facility in Kingston from approximately 40 to 80 spaces. The new centre is slated to open in a few months.

Joe Malek, president and CEO of NSCECE, told CBC News in an interview that the money from the province is strictly capital funding, but the daycare’s operating costs are expected to go up significantly.

He said this is why parent fees, which haven’t been raised since 2015, must be increased.

“We’re sensitive to the fact that families are all trying to balance budgets, and it’s difficult. The costs for everybody are going up, including us,” Malek said, who pointed out that Stepping Stone did not break-even last year and actually lost some money.

“We’re not-for-profit, so we’re not looking to make a whole lot of money off of child care. We just want to make sure that we can cover our costs.”

Malek said he’s heard from a few concerned parents after the initial letter went out, so they’ve adjusted their timeline. 

“The implementation of the fee increase will be delayed by one month, now beginning May 1, 2026,” said an updated letter to families. “The increase will be introduced gradually, with half applied in May and the remaining half in June.” 

But for Boyter, that extra time is no consultation to the fact that her family will be out an additional $230 per month, she estimates, starting in June.

“Affordable daycare enables families to have choice of how they spend their money, enables them to weather the storm of a cost of living crisis,” she said.

“That $230 is our grocery money, it’s our kids’ [education savings]. Investment in affordable daycare is investment in the province’s GDP.” 

CBC News also spoke to several other parents who did not want to go on the record, but shared similar concerns about costs going up.

$10-a-day average

The fee increase comes at a time when the province has confirmed it will miss its target to achieve $10 per day daycare fees on average — an agreement outlined in a bilateral agreement with Ottawa — by March 31, 2026.

“Instead, we’re going the opposite direction, in fact increasing for our son by $10. So it felt counterintuitive to the child-care plan that the province has in place,” said Boyter.

When asked about the situation at Province House on Friday, Education Minister Brendan Maguire said his department has reached out to NSCECE to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. 

He said because Stepping Stone was acquired by new owners, they have the right to set their rates, but added that the province has frozen daycare rates since 2021 and he does not want to see costs go up for parents. 

Maguire said the province plans to use operational support funding to help NSCECE keep the costs down at Stepping Stone.

“Affordability for parents and for Nova Scotians is top of mind, is key. Our commitment was to freeze rates, and our commitment is with the federal government to ensure that we get down to $10 a day,” said Maguire. 

“Anytime there is a cost that is put on parents and families … it’s definitely something that I don’t think they can bear, so we’re going to work with the organization and the families.” 

He could not offer an updated timeline for when the province will reach its $10 target, but said they are working with the federal government.

As for Stepping Stone, Malek said additional subsidies from the province could bring costs down. He added that once construction is finished, it will be a brand new centre with better infrastructure designed to offer high quality child care.

“I think families will see a marked difference in the experience that the children will be able to enjoy each day,” said Malek. 

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