The cost of childcare in British Columbia and questions about who deserves a subsidy program dominated the provincial election campaign Tuesday as the provincial Conservatives accused NDP Leader David Eby of dodging questions about his family’s use of $10-a-day childcare. Eby said he and his wife donated the difference in costs after their children’s daycare fell under the $10-a day program a couple years ago. While Eby initially declined to reveal the size of the donation, his campaign later said that the family has paid $3,200 to the daycare and intends to pay an additional $4,800—bringing the total to $8,000. The NDP leader said he and wife Cailey Lynch, a doctor, didn’t need the daycare discount that has only reached a minority of parents in the province and they wanted other families to benefit after the centre switched to the subsidized rate, so they made the donation to the facility. “We made the decision as a family that we didn’t need that benefit,” he said, at an unrelated campaign announcement in Vancouver Tuesday. Eby was asked if his party would introduce means testing for the $10-a-day program and responded that his focus lies on working with the federal government to create affordable childcare spaces for all British Columbians. “We made sure to include a very clear commitment from the feds to sit down with us, and deliver childcare in British Columbia, because it is an economic strategy,” he said. Eby added that he will continue to do the work on building out affordable childcare in B.C. His campaign said later in a statement that the average childcare rate in B.C. is now $19 per day, down from $49 per day when the party first formed government nine years ago. Vancouver Conservative candidate Margareta Dovgal said in a statement that Eby is doing damage control. “David Eby is trying to defend the indefensible, as British Columbians are seeing Eby for the opportunistic hypocrite he is,” she wrote. “David Eby needs to stop dodging the tough questions, and come clean.” In addition to providing an answer to the question about the donation amount, the Conservatives want Eby to provide proof of the charitable contribution and to indicate whether the donation was written off. Sharon Gregson, a fierce and long-time advocates for $10-a-day child care, said the failure to deliver on the promise of universal $10-a-day child care is what the public should be focused on. “British Columbia has the dubious distinction of having the most expensive child care in the country,” she said. “What is newsworthy here is not that Premier Eby’s family has access to $10-a-day childcare. What’s really the issue here is that most other people don’t.” The B.C. Greens have said they have a plan that would provide universal, free child care by 2030. The B.C. Conservatives have not made any specific promises related to child care. A televised leaders’ debate is set for Wednesday. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Rob Buffam This report by, Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2026.
