Supports for students

Changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program came into effect for this school year, and includes extending the Canada Student Loan limit increase to $300 per week of study for full-time students. It will also give a 40% increase to Canada Student Grants for full-time students, part-time students, students with disabilities and students with dependents, by one year.

Extending the increase to the loan limit continues to allow students with unmet funding needs to take out additional loans from the government without being charged interest.

Another update the government proposed is permanently eliminating the credit screening requirement for students aged 22 and older who are applying for student financial assistance for the first time.

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Predicted benefits

This coming school year, the government predicts approximately 297,000 students will benefit from the extension of the weekly loan limit amount, while temporarily extending 40% increase to grants will help approximately 587,000 Canadian students.

Permanently eliminating credit screening as a requirement for first-time student financial assistance applicants aged 22 and older is expected to positively impact approximately 1,000 Canadians annually.

As of August 1, approximately $154.6 million in additional student financial aid over the next five years, with over $32.3 million per year ongoing, will help about 79,000 students each school year. This will specifically address the real cost of rent for students and modernize the shelter allowances used by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program to assess financial needs.

In total, the federal government is investing a total of $1.1 billion in 2024–25 for financial aid for post-secondary students.

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Nicholas Sokic Contributor

Nicholas completed his master's in journalism and communications at Western University. Since then, he's worked as a reporter at the Financial Post, Healthing.ca, Sustainable Biz Canada and more. Aside from reporting, he also has experience in web production, social media management, photography and video production. His work can also be found in the Toronto Star, Yahoo Finance Canada, Electric Autonomy Canada and Exclaim among others.

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