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.
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, today 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.
