Minister of Children's Services Rebecca Schulz. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Province announces $561 per child “Working Parents Benefit”

Feb 24, 2021 | 10:15 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta is returning some child care costs to parents.

Minister of Children’s Services Rebecca Schulz announced the creation of the new Working Parents Benefit (WPB) Wednesday.

It gives a one-time payment of $561 per child for parents who have children in daycare, day homes, out-of-school care, or preschool.

“Alberta’s government is focused on protecting lives and livelihoods and that means being there for working parents,” says Schulz. “Families are facing additional stress due to the pandemic and the uncertainty in the economy. We want to directly support these parents by alleviating the financial pressures they have faced this past year.”

The benefit is eligible for families with a total household income up to $100,000 and who have paid for three months of child care or preschool between April 1 and December 31, 2020.

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In total, the province plans to spend $108-million on the WPB.

The timing for when you can apply for this benefit depends on what part of Alberta you are from. The following information comes directly from the Alberta Government:

• Monday, March 1: Southern Alberta
  • Excluding: Airdrie, Camrose, Calgary, Edmonton, Leduc, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and Wetaskiwin
• Tuesday, March 2: Northern Alberta
  • Excluding: Cold Lake, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and Lloydminster
• Wednesday, March 3: Urban centres
  • Including: Airdrie, Camrose, Cold Lake, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Leduc, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and Wetaskiwin
  • Excluding: Edmonton and Calgary
• Thursday, March 4: Edmonton metro area
  • Friday, March 5: Calgary metro area
  • March 6 to 31: Albertans from any region in the province can submit their application.

As of February 12, 96 per cent of daycares, preschools, and out-of-care programs in Alberta were open. There are currently 2,739 open programs that have 115,285 spaces available.

More information on the Working Parents Benefit can be found here.