Alberta offers $30-a-day support for families as teachers’ strike looms

October 1, 2025

RED FM News Desk

With a province-wide teachers’ strike possible next week, the Alberta government has announced a new financial support program for families with young children.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) said Monday that an overwhelming majority of members rejected the province’s latest contract offer. The union has warned teachers will walk off the job on Oct. 6 if no deal is reached.

In response, Finance Minister Nate Horner unveiled the Parent Support Payment Program on Tuesday. The program will provide eligible parents and guardians with $30 per child, per day, for children under 12 impacted by school closures.

The province says the funds are meant to help cover added costs, such as childcare and meals, while students remain at home. Horner noted the payments would come from redirected education funding, including “largely unspent teachers’ salaries while they’re striking.”

Payments will be delivered monthly by e-transfer beginning Oct. 31, and will be retroactive to Oct. 6 to cover any missed school days from that date.

The ATA sharply criticized the announcement, arguing the government is willing to spend more to mitigate the effects of a strike than to prevent one.

“The $30 a day being offered to parents is nearly double what teachers are currently paid,” ATA president Jason Schilling said in a statement. “In other words, the government would rather pay parents to wait out a strike than pay teachers to prevent one.”