BANFF – Like so many other families in Banff, Emma Sanborn is desperately trying to find childcare before she is scheduled to go back to work when her maternity leave ends in February.
When she was pregnant with her now six-month-old daughter Charlotte, she said the main conversation with other parents centred on, “Oh, I hope you find childcare.”
“The No. 1 stress for me, even in pregnancy before she was here, was when and if she gets into childcare,” Sanborn said.
“We’re like a lot of families here because we don’t have family here to rely on. About half of the new moms I know are lucky enough to have parents in the Bow Valley, but we don’t.”
The Town of Banff is looking to address childcare needs and challenges in the community.
A survey is currently open to parents and caregivers living in Banff with children aged 12 or under, and is open until Oct. 17. The survey can be found at https://banffviewpoints.ca/childcare.
The childcare needs study has been initiated following the results of the 2023 community social assessment, which showed a decline in the number of families living in Banff.
The 2021 federal census also showed a substantial decline in two-parent families with children from 47 per cent in 2016 down to 39 per cent in 2021.
The community social assessment indicated some parents are reporting having to return to work earlier than desired from parental leave due to financial constraints. It also concluded childcare is expensive in relation to wages.
One of the recommendations coming out of the study identified exploration of more flexible spaces and options for affordable and accessible childcare.
“Families have said they have real challenges finding childcare here in Banff and that is something we have consistently heard,” said Jessica LaBonte, community development coordinator for the Town of Banff.
“They have a desire to live here, but they did identify childcare challenges, housing, and cost-of-living are all primary stressors, some or all of which, may be a reason for them to have to depart the community… We do know that there is a persisting childcare need.”
In the community social assessment, Banff saw the largest percentage point drop over a five-year period in the number of two-parent families with children at eight per cent compared to similar communities. Canmore and Whistler saw the number drop three per cent.
Notably, Banff’s percentage is now identical to Canmore and very similar to Whistler, marking a substantial change from the findings in 2016.
In addition, when looking at age groups in Banff over time, children as a percentage of the population have also dropped, now collectively representing 13.5 per cent of Banff’s population compared to 17 per cent 15 years ago.
Sanborn said she had the paperwork for the two childcare centres in Banff ready to go the day Charlotte was born.
“You can’t submit anything before the baby’s born, so you have to have that paperwork ready to submit basically when you’re in hospital,” she said.
“You hear this story over and over from other parents and it kind of amps up the anxiety of not getting into childcare even before you’ve had a child.”
Sanborn and her partner Philipp Leberer are also thinking of getting Charlotte on the list for daycare in Canmore to cover their bases.
It’s not their first choice, said Sanborn, noting part of the reason they love living in Banff is being able to walk everywhere without hopping in a car.
“I’ve been reticent to the fact that maybe we’ll get a spot in Canmore or somewhere else,” she said.
“Just to be able to go back to work, we’ll have to add an hour commute at the beginning and end of our work day, which is something I’d hate to have to do but something we might have to do,” she said.
Sanborn said Banff is also one of the most expensive communities to live in Canada so she needs to go back to work.
“To not be able to take advantage of the childcare subsidy that we’re so lucky to now have, if you are lucky enough to get a spot, it’s one of those livability pieces, and we need to take advantage of that if we can,” she said.
The Day Care Society of Banff has two licensed child care centres under its umbrella – the Banff Child Care Centre and Puzzles Child Care Centre – both with lengthy wait lists.
LaBonte said the Bow Valley Family Child Care Agency, of DAVAR Child Care Society, confirmed that as of last week, there was one licensed day home in Banff.
“They do fluctuate but typically it’s very low,” she said.
LaBonte said understanding the challenges and experiences of Banff families about childcare will help formulate better discussions and creative ideas to address childcare needs in the community.
She said input from the survey will be compiled along with feedback from current and former childcare staff and service providers, with a report containing a summary of the findings presented to council.
“From there, it will hopefully initiate some further conversation, some creative conversation and discussions around how to address some of these childcare challenges,” LaBonte said.
Mayor Corrie DiManno said over the past few years, she has had many conversations with parents, particularly new parents, about how stressful finding childcare is for them in Banff.
“They’ve told me how a part of their birth plan is having the registration paperwork for Banff daycares prepared ahead of time and then after the baby is born – and as soon as there is a name and birthdate to add to the forms – they have their partner submit it to the daycare so that they can immediately join the waitlist to have an increased chance of having childcare secured a year to 18 months from giving birth,” she said.
“I’ve also talked with parents on the tail end of their parental leave who can’t even fully enjoy the remaining time they have left with their baby before going back to work because they’ve yet to secure childcare.”
And in a community where a lot of people move from other countries or provinces, DiManno said families are often going it alone without generational family support to help watch their children, the way one might be able to have that help from grandparents when living in the same community or area.
“Often, you’ll see new parents eventually pack up and move closer to those family support systems,” she said.
“It’s always a sad day in Banff when we lose a family to another community due to a number of reasons, but particularly because of unavailable and/or unaffordable housing and childcare.”
DiManno said this is consistent with what the Town of Banff heard in the 2023 community social assessment.
“So I’m really pleased we are digging in deeper to better understand the barriers to securing childcare because this feedback will inform discussions and solutions for how the municipality could help to address this issue,” she said.
The mayor said it is imperative the Town of Banff does everything it can to help keep families in Banff because they are a “foundational part of our community”.
“And I know parents are some of the busiest people in town, but I would really encourage Banff families to take the survey so we can have as many perspectives as possible in front of us when creating recommendations and ultimately, making decisions,” she said.