e-2928 (Education and training)

The Government of Canada recognizes the challenges students face in accessing post-secondary education and is committed to ensuring that post-secondary education remains affordable and student debt manageable. The Government also recognizes that challenges have been compounded and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) provides needs-based and targeted Canada Student Grants (CSG) and Canada Student Loans (CSL) to help students’ access post-secondary education, and offers the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.

Over the last year, in recognition that post-secondary students and their families may be facing financial hardship during the pandemic, the Government of Canada brought forward a number of enhancements to the CSLP. First, from March 30, 2020 to September 30, 2020, no interest was charged on CSLs and Canada Apprentice Loans (CAL), and no payments were required. This relief measure was automatically applied and benefited approximately 1.1 million students in repayment. The Government has also taken steps to ensure that borrowers who continue to face financial challenges following the end of the repayment freeze are aware that if they apply for RAP, no payments would be required if they are making less than $25,000 per year.

Furthermore, the Government introduced:

• The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), which provided financial support from May to August 2020 to students and recent graduates who were unable to work or could not find work due to COVID-19, or were working but did not expect to make more than $1,000 (before taxes) over the four-week period for which they were applying. Eligible students received $1,250 per month, and students with dependants or a disability received an additional $750 per month, for a total of $2,000 per month. More than 700,000 students received close to $3 billion in financial support through the CESB.

• Increased grants and loans supports for the 2020-2021 school year, so that students facing financial difficulties could access and afford post-secondary education. The value of CSGs was doubled for all eligible full-time students (up to $6,000 per year), and part-time students (up to $3,600 per year). CSGs for students with permanent disabilities and dependants were also doubled. The weekly cap on CSLs was increased from $210 to $350. The expected contribution from students and their spouses in determining the amount of financial aid a student can receive was removed. Taken together, it is expected that these measures will benefit approximately 765,000 returning and prospective students.

Finally, in the November 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the Government announced the temporary elimination of interest on CSLs and CALs, in order to ease the financial burden of student loan repayment during the economic recovery. Pending parliamentary approvals and at a cost of$329.4 million, this measure would take effect on April 1, 2021, and be in place for one year, bringing much needed relief to 1.4 million Canadians who are in repayment of their federal student loans.

These historic investments, combined with other investments made in recent years, signify the Government of Canada’s ongoing commitment to ensure that post-secondary education is affordable and that student debt is manageable during these challenging times.