Early Childhood Educator Wage Analysis

One of the major roadblocks to expansion of universal child care in BC and across Canada is the worsening ECE staffing crisis.

Recruitment and retention of qualified early childhood educators has always been a challenge due to historically low wages, the lack of pensions and other benefits, and tough working conditions. But post-pandemic, the situation is worse than ever, with 45% of programs losing more staff than they can hire. [1]

As a key solution, BC has promised to create a publicly-funded ECE “wage grid”, which provide set wages based on things like qualifications, role and years of experience.

How high do wages need to be in BC’s promised wage grid? As it stands, even with BC government top-ups, the average wage for ECEs with a post-secondary certificate or diploma was just $24.32/hr in 2022, with some qualified ECEs today earning as little as $20.75/hr.

By comparison, an analysis we conducted for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and Early Childhood Educators of BC shows that a competitive wage for ECEs is now at least $30-$40/hr, depending on qualifications and years of employment. In other words, to create more spaces and end families’ often-desperate search for quality child care, BC needs to raise wages for many ECEs by at least $10/hour.

More details can be found in the this Briefing Document or in the video below.

[1] As reported in the 2021 Evaluation Report of BC’s Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy.