Question Period Note: POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AFFORDABILITY

Various stakeholders and academics have expressed concerns that Budget 2025 did not commit to extending the temporary increases to Canada Student Grants beyond the 2025-26 academic year. Complaints have been raised that this amounts to a ‘billion dollar cut’ in non-repayable funding available to low-income post-secondary students starting next year.

Canadians are facing increasing affordability pressures and an uncertain economic environment. Post-secondary education is a key driver of inclusive economic growth, and the Government is committed to ensuring that it remains accessible and affordable for all Canadians.

To help students afford post-secondary education, the Government has maintained the increase to non-repayable Canada Student Grants by 40

percent over pre-pandemic amounts for the 2025-2026 school year. Canada Student Loan debt has remained stable for over a decade due to significant increases in grants.

The Government has also made Canada Student Loans permanently interest-free as of 2023 and has extended the increase to the weekly loan limit from $210 to $300 for the 2025-2026 school year.

No decision has been made regarding the next steps on the temporary increases to Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans. Temporary increases were introduced in 2023-24 and extended in 2024-25 and 2025-26. No decision has been made on grant and loan amounts beyond July 31, 2026.

The Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program provides need-based grants and interest-free loans to help students access post-secondary education and offers the Repayment Assistance Plan to borrowers with financial difficulty.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada Student Grants (CSGs) were temporarily doubled over pre-pandemic amounts from the 2020-21 through 2022-23 school years.

To address ongoing affordability challenges, CSGs were subsequently increased by 40% over their pre-pandemic amounts for the 2023-2025 school years, with a recent extension for 2025-26. Post-secondary students can benefit from the following grants:

Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students: up to $4,200 for a typical academic year (versus up to $3,000 in 2019-2020);

Canada Student Grant for Part-Time Students: up to $2,520 annually (versus up to $1,800 in 2019-2020);

Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities: $2,800 annually (versus $2,000 in 2019-2020);

Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students with Dependants: up to $2,240 per dependant per typical academic year (versus $1,600 in 2019-2020); and

Canada Student Grant for Part-Time Students with Dependants (CSGPTDEP): maximum of $2,688 annually (versus $1,920 in 2019-2020).

Canada Student Loans (CSLs) were also increased from $210 per week to $300 for two years (2023-25), and then again for 2025-26. This means full-time students can receive a maximum of $10,200 for a typical 34-week academic year (previously $7,140). Prior to 2023-24, the weekly loan limit had remained at the same level ($210) since 2005-06, except when it was temporarily increased to $350 for 2020-21 as part of COVID-19 relief measures.

A summary of the policy actions taken since the 2024 Fall Economic Statement was shared within Budget 2025 in Table A1.18. This includes an expense of $1.212 billion, invested by the Government of Canada for the 2025-26 school year on the temporary increases to CSGs and CSLs on page 273. 

On April 1, 2023, the Government of Canada permanently eliminated interest accrual on CSLs and Canada Apprentice Loans. This built on temporary waivers on interest during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 1, 2022, the Government increased the zero-payment income threshold for the Repayment Assistance Plan so that single borrowers are not required to begin repaying their CSLs until they are earning at least $40,000 per year. This amount is adjusted upward based on family size. To ensure this support keeps pace with the cost of living, the zero-payment income threshold is indexed to inflation. As of August 1, 2025, the zero-payment income threshold for a single borrower is now $45,456 per year.

In 2023-24, the Government waived the requirement for mature students 22 years or older to undergo credit screening to obtain grants and loans, a measure which was made permanent in 2024-25. This helps up to 1,000 prospective students per year in accessing funding for post-secondary education.

In August 2024, the Government of Canada modernized the shelter allowances used by the CSFA Program to assess students’ financial needs. This new approach will provide additional student aid to help approximately 79,000 students each year with the real cost of rent.

In 2023, the Government consulted with students on a long-term approach to student financial assistance. Students emphasized affordability considerations and advocated for consistent and stable funding for student financial assistance during that consultation.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting access and affordability of post-secondary education.

The Government of Canada is investing over $1 billion in 2025 to 2026 in student financial assistance, by maintaining the temporary increase to Canada Student Grants (CSGs) by 40% from 2019 amounts and the increase to the weekly Canada Student Loan (CSL) limit from $210 to $300.

In 2023-2024, approximately:

586,000 students benefited from $2.6 billion in non-repayable CSGs

649,000 students received $4.8 billion CSLs

288,000 student loan borrowers received support under the Repayment Assistance Plan, which helps borrowers who have trouble repaying their student loans"If they want to talk about how this is a sacrifice budget, that's understandable given the circumstances, but to not let young Canadians know what they're sacrificing — I feel it's a little disingenuous." - Jack Coen, President of the University of Ottawa Students' Union.

-Budget 2025 slashes Canada Student Grants, experts warn

“[Alex] Usher doesn't believe the lower grants will necessarily deter students from pursuing post-secondary education, but worries they'll end up worse off once they graduate. ‘It means higher debt,’ he said.”

-Budget 2025 slashes Canada Student Grants, experts warn

“The expansion of federal student aid continues to be a priority for students. The temporary expansion of current student aid levels is not a permanent solution to increases in student cost of living, but the government has clearly signalled that excluding students from post-secondary education on the basis of socioeconomic status is not the right path forward for Canada.”

• Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), reaction to Budget 2025, November 4, 2025