Banff 
Alberta government has announced a one-time pay top-up and pay increase for Early Childhood Educators in the province.
The pay increase is part of the childcare deal Alberta signed with the federal government to attract Early Childhood Educators to the job and lower daycare fees lowered to $10 per day by 2026.
To achieve this, the government will give a one-time payment and increase pay by up to two dollars per hour as of January 1, 2023 for all paid hours.
As per the news release, all employed ECEs who worked an average of 30 hours-plus per week in October and November 2022 and continue to work in December will be eligible to receive a one-time payment of $900. Those who worked fewer than 30 hours per week will be eligible for a $450 payment.
The one-time payment and wage top-ups for ECEs represent an investment of about $13.3 million and $165.5 million respectively in federal funding. The Alberta government will invest $2.72 million and $22.4 million in provincial funding for the same one-time payments and wage top-ups respectively for certified ECEs working in out-of-school care programs.
The news release does not state the timeline for the disbursement of the one-time payment.
