The Yukon government has handed over an 880-square-metre piece of land on 5th Avenue to the Dawson Society for Children and Families, clearing a major hurdle for a bigger Little Blue Daycare in Dawson City, Yukon. Announced in mid-May, the transfer sees the land change hands for a single dollar, paving the way for the new Big Blue Daycare to replace the current century-old building. Construction is expected to start this fall, with doors opening by late summer 2027.
Brian Naef, vice president of the Dawson Society for Children and Families, said the new centre will bump capacity from 20 kids to 32. The project will go to tender in June, with shovels in the ground as soon as this fall. “We’ve been doing the architecture and engineering, and we’re hoping to tender this project come June of this year,” Naef said. “We’re hoping that we can pick what we like and start construction, hopefully, this fall.”
The expansion has been nearly a decade in the making. Former Premier Sandy Silver first promised a new home for Little Blue during the 2016 election campaign, but the project stalled repeatedly. The current push lines up with the Canada-Yukon Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Agreement, which has put roughly $10.5 million into similar projects over four years, most recently extended to 2026-27.
The land deal lands just as Little Critters daycare, which opened in 2022 with spots for 26 children, gets set to close its doors this summer. With about 40 kids stuck on Little Blue’s waitlist, the net gain of 12 spaces leaves a gap that worries local leaders. Klondike MLA Brent McDonald, a former president of the Little Blue board, has flagged the math, noting the community will still be short on care.
That shortage has already cost Dawson City nurses, doctors, and teachers who couldn’t find childcare. Naef put it bluntly: “Honestly, we’ve been turning professionals away in this community because we have no child care available.” The new Big Blue Daycare aims to ease that pressure, but for now, families are bracing for a tight summer.
