Banff Town Council is taking a tangible step to add more child care spaces in the community. During an August 11, 2026 meeting, council directed administration to hire contractors to create engineering plans for expanding the Banff Child Care Centre. The plans will be suitable for a development permit application and funded up to $56,000 from the town’s emergency fund.
Council also asked staff to prepare a separate proposal for new child care space at Banff Elementary School. Both projects will be reviewed during the town’s annual budget talks in November and December 2026. At that time, council will also look at provincial funding that could lower fees for families.
The need is urgent. Banff has about 148 licensed child care spaces for kids aged 12 months to 12 years, but a waitlist of 224 families as of March 2026. The Banff Child Care Centre, owned by the town and run by the Day Care Society of Banff at $1 per year in rent, has 82 licensed spaces. Expanding it is seen as the strongest option for long-term sustainability.
This move follows other recent efforts to ease the shortage. In July 2026, council approved a $50,000 pilot grant program to support up to 10 new licensed day homes, each receiving $5,000. Banff currently has only one licensed home daycare, with landlord and condo rules often blocking new ones.
Families have described the shortage as causing extreme stress, and some have left Banff entirely. Federal census data shows the share of two-parent families with kids fell from 47 per cent in 2016 to 39 per cent in 2021. Building more spaces is also challenging because Parks Canada limits the town to four square kilometres.
