Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has announced additional supports in the event that teachers go on strike. (Photo: Alberta Government)

By David Opinko

More supports for families during potential teachers’ strike, free programming in southern Alberta

Oct 3, 2025 | 3:28 PM

The Alberta Government has announced additional support for students and their families in the event that teachers go on strike on Monday.

Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says he wishes the government did not have to go this route, but he wanted to focus on what matters the most – our kids and their education.

“The additional supports we are introducing will help families who need child care, give students access to learning opportunities in their communities and offer more options for how and where they learn,” says Nicolaides.

If a new deal is not reached between the government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the province’s 51,000 teachers will go on strike as of Monday, October 6.

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Child care Subsidy

To ease the financial burden on families who require additional childcare during the strike, Alberta’s government will increase October funding rates for eligible children in grades 1 to 6 who are attending out-of-school care full time.

The temporary increase in funding will come into effect after five consecutive days of a strike and apply for all of October. The rate of funding will increase to a maximum of $644 to align with the funding rates provided during summer months when children require full time care.

Distance Education

To provide continued access to learning and offer students more flexibility, Alberta’s government will temporarily lift the 10-credit per year limit on distance education. This will allow students in grades 10 to 12 to keep earning credits during a strike if they are interested in doing so. Students may also enrol in distance learning with independent schools that offer this programming at any time during the strike.

Home Education

Parents may also choose to enrol their child in a home education program with a supervising independent school. If a family chooses to do so, both the family and the supervising independent school will be eligible for up to 50 per cent of the home education grant, up to $450.50 per child.

Family Programming

To provide further opportunities for continued learning, Alberta’s provincial heritage sites and museums are offering free admission for all Albertans aged 18 and under for the duration of the teachers’ strike.
Sites offering free admission include:

• Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, Crowsnest Pass
• Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump, Fort Macleod
• Oil Sands Discovery Centre, Fort McMurray
• Remington Carriage Museum, Cardston
• Reynolds Museum, Wetaskiwin
• Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton
• Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller

Parents and family members will still be required to pay admission fees. Guests 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Museums will also be expanding hours. Families are encouraged to visit the website of each participating museum for details on hours and programming.

Previously-Announced Supports

Financial Support

The Alberta Government announced on Sept. 30 that, if a strike were to occur, it would provide some families with financial assistance.

Parents and guardians of students aged 12 and under who attend a public, separate or francophone school will receive $30 per day per student for the duration of the strike. The first payment will be made on Oct. 31.

More information about the application process will be made available shortly, but families are asked to ensure they have set up an Alberta.ca verified account at alberta.ca/alberta-ca-account.

Learning Supports

Alberta Education and Childcare has created a free toolkit for parents to support their child’s learning in the event that schools are closed.

The toolkit provides resources that follow the K-12 curriculum, and are available in English and French. It focuses on the core subjects of language arts, social studies, math and sciences, and will be updated weekly.

You can access the learning toolkit here.