Eby defends his family’s $10-a-day child-care spot as B.C. Conservatives call it a scarce perk for a high-income household

VANCOUVER — B.C. NDP Leader David Eby is defending his family’s use of a provincial $10-a-day child-care space after Conservatives argued that a scarce subsidized spot went to a high-income household 11 days before the Oct. 24 provincial election, Global News reported.

Eby confirmed to reporters on the campaign trail that one of his children attends a YMCA facility in the $10-a-day program. In a statement summarized by Daily Hive, he said the child was already enrolled when the centre became a designated $10-a-day site a couple of years ago, and that the family then chose to donate to the facility because they “did not need that discount.”

The BC NDP later told Global News the family has donated $3,200 since mid-2024 — eight months at $400 a month — and intends to donate a further $4,800 at the end of this year. Eby said Tuesday the donations were meant so “other families in the area could benefit.”

Conservative candidate Margareta Dovgal (Vancouver-Yaletown) called the arrangement “shocking,” pointing to Eby’s compensation of more than $226,000 as premier and his wife’s work as a physician. “What families will not accept is a Premier who promised them $10-a-day child care, failed to deliver it, and then took one of the scarce spots for himself while a single mom working two jobs sits on a waitlist,” she said in a party statement quoted by The Tyee and Global News.

Access to designated $10-a-day spaces is not income-tested. Participating centres cap regular full-time fees at about $200 a month per child. Advocates and news outlets say only about 10 per cent of B.C.’s licensed spaces are in the designated $10-a-day stream, and many parents still pay $40 to $100 a day. Eby’s government announced a three-year pause on adding new providers to that stream earlier this year.

Sharon Gregson of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. told CKNW, as quoted by The Tyee, that she wants Eby’s family to benefit from $10-a-day care — but also expects him to push for the other 90 per cent of spaces to reach the same rate rather than leaving “lucky lottery winners” at $10 while others pay far more. CBC News reported Conservatives have demanded more detail on the timing, value and tax treatment of the donations.

The Conservatives have not released a full child-care platform. The NDP says fee reductions have cut average costs by about half and warns that rolling back supports would raise parents’ bills; Conservatives have not announced a decision to eliminate the program. The BC Greens have pledged to lift the freeze and move toward universal free child care by 2031, The Tyee reported.

Advance voting for the snap provincial election runs Oct. 16 to 21, with voting day on Saturday, Oct. 24. The dispute lands as child care remains one of the sharpest cost-of-living fights on the campaign trail.

Sources: Global News (Oct. 13, 2026); Daily Hive (Oct. 13, 2026); The Tyee (Oct. 13, 2026); CBC News (Oct. 13, 2026).