To unlock good-paying opportunities for every generation, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z, every student must have fair access to post-secondary education, regardless of their ability to pay. Everyone should be able to afford college, university, or an apprenticeship, graduate and find a good job, put a roof over their head, and build a good middle class life.
On September 10, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced the federal government is delivering $7.3 billion in grants and interest-free loans to students this academic year. The federal government's record-high support for students is made possible by measures announced in Budget 2024:
- Extending for an additional year the increase in full-time Canada Student Grants from $3,000 to $4,200 per year and interest-free Canada Student Loans from $210 to $300 per week. Grants for part-time students, students with disabilities, and students with dependants are also being increased proportionately. With this $1.1 billion investment, Canada Student Grants have more than doubled in size since 2014, when the maximum full-time grant was just $2,000.
- Increasing rent support for students by modernizing the typical cost of housing used to determine students' financial need to reflect true housing costs, as the formula used had not been updated since 1998. This new approach means approximately 79,000 students will receive more student aid this year.
- Permanently eliminating credit screening for students aged 22 and older, to remove barriers for returning to school for adults with low credit scores and enable more Canadians to access student aid. This change is expected to help up to 1,000 more Canadians return to school this academic year.
With these actions to increase support for students, 587,000 students are benefitting from $2.4 billion in grants and 652,000 students are benefitting from $4.9 billion in interest-free loans, totalling $7.3 billion this academic year.
Increased federal student aid complements the federal government's $2.6 billion investment to train top-tier, homegrown talent, with core research grants and enhanced scholarships and fellowships to make it more affordable for our brightest minds to put their ideas to work.
Quotes
"Fairness for every generation requires ensuring financial means are not a barrier for pursuing a post-secondary education. That is why we're boosting student aid to a record-high $7.3 billion in Canada Student Grants and interest-free Canada Student Loans this academic year. This is about unlocking post-secondary education for more young Canadians, so we can build a more productive, more innovative economy where every generation can get ahead."
- The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Quick facts
- Since 2016, the federal government has supported 645,000 post-secondary students per year, on average, with $38.6 billion in up-front grants and interest-free loans enabling young Canadians to pursue their education, regardless of their background.
- To ensure this support keeps up with the cost of an education, in 2016, the government permanently increased Canada Student Grants by 50 per cent to $3,000. In 2020, when students faced challenges finding work and affording school, the government temporarily doubled Canada Student Grants to provide $6,000 each year for three school years.
- Since April 1, 2023, interest charges have been permanently eliminated on all Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans, saving the average student loan borrower an average of $610 every year on interest payments. After graduation, borrowers do not need to make payments on their interest-free loans until earning at least $44,388 per year.
- To attract more rural health and social service workers, in Budget 2024, the federal government expanded student loan forgiveness for graduates working in rural and remote communities already available for doctors and nurses to:
- Dentists;
- Dental hygienists;
- Pharmacists;
- Midwives;
- Early childhood educators;
- Teachers;
- Social workers;
- Personal support workers;
- Physiotherapists; and,
- Psychologists.
- Enhanced federal research support of $2.6 billion includes:
- A 30 per cent increase over five years of Canada's core research grant programs that support faculty-led research projects. This $1.8 billion investment will indirectly support thousands of graduate student and post-doctoral fellows with their research, including their work on climate action, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and psychological health.
- Increasing the annual value of master's and doctoral students' scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. To make it easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined into one talent program. This new program an investment of $825 million will also increase the number of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows benefitting from research scholarships and fellowships, building to approximately 1,720 graduate students and fellows benefitting each year.
- The federal government is calling on provinces and territories to make education more affordable through robust investments in student financial assistance and post-secondary institutions.
- The federal government is also calling on the provinces and territories that still charge interest on student loans Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories to make their student loans interest-free.
- Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, which do not participate in the federal program, can receive funding to provide their own comparable support to students.
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