Wages

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA) understands the complex and demanding nature of an early childhood educator's (ECEs) daily work. It believes that those certified to work in licensed and/or approved child care programs should be compensated in a way that reflects their educational qualifications, experience, and responsibilities within their program/agency. This remuneration should be reflective of the standards for similarly qualified workforces that are also critical to Alberta's economy.

AECEA believes providing better wages to early childhood educators will help to recruit and retain a field of educated and competent ECEs, ensuring that there are enough qualified educators to meet the growing demand for high quality child care spaces in Alberta. Currently, there are regulated spaces for approximately 1 in 4 children (ages 0-12) with working mothers in Alberta.

Wage top-up funding is allocated to child care programs as a grant to administer additional pay for certified staff and family day home providers over and above the employer-paid wage. This funding is provided by Alberta Children's Services. When the program administers the wage top-up to staff, it is considered a ‘wage’ and thus the program is required to assume the costs associated with administering the top-up in accordance with all applicable provincial and federal legislation.

* average as of February 2023

Wage top-ups are paid up to a maximum of 181 hours per month. For more information on the wage top-up program, go here.