Liberals expand loans and grants in budget, but students hoping for more next year

OCAD University is seen in Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Galit Rodan

OTTAWA -

This year's federal budget sets aside more than $800 million to expand loans and grants for the upcoming school year, but students are looking forward to permanent changes to financial assistance.

For the 2023-24 school year, the Liberals are planning to increase the maximum grants available to $4,200, up from $3,000.

A temporary measure that doubled grants to up to $6,000 was set to expire this summer.

The loan limit is also increasing to $300 per week of study from $210.

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Loans and grants are administered through the Canada student financial assistance program, which provides funding in partnership with provinces and territories. Students from low and middle-income families are eligible, along with students with dependants and those with disabilities.

The government is also planning to increase the withdrawal limit on registered education savings plans for full-time students to $8,000 from $5,000, and to $4,000 from $2,500 for part-time students.

The temporary expansion of loans and grants is part of a set of affordability measures in the budget and builds on the Liberals' move to permanently remove interest charges on federal student loans.

Looking ahead, the government promised in the budget to “work with students in the year ahead to develop a long-term approach to student financial assistance.”

Mackenzy Metcalfe, executive director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, said students need more support to keep up with the rising cost of living.

“We're working with different members of Parliament and stakeholders to figure out what this review is going to look like,” she said.

Metcalfe said students are facing financial pressures, including rapidly rising costs of food and rent, and high tuition.

A report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation earlier this year showed the average listed rent for all property types in Canada jumped by 10.7 per cent in 2022.

For the 2022-23 academic year, Statistics Canada says tuition costs rose in all provinces, ranging from an increase of 0.3 per cent in Ontario to 5.7 per cent in Alberta.

“It's just really important to know that students pocketbooks are being pinched, just as (all) Canadians are right now,” Metcalfe said.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a post-budget town hall at Durham College in Whitby, Ont., with students

Paul Fritz, a student at Durham College who attended the town hall, applauded the federal government for removing interest charges on loans.

“One of the hardest transitions to make is coming out of your chosen career path in education, and then trying to land a job,” Fritz said in an interview.

“So giving students any break that they can have when they come out of university or college is going to give them a huge leap.”

However, Metcalfe said the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations was disappointed to see mental health funding was left out of the budget.

In a mandate letter following the last election, Trudeau tasked Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett with introducing a fund for student mental health.

The fund would go toward hiring counsellors, improving wait times for services and targeted supports for Black and racialized students.

In their 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised $500 million for this fund.

“In all the conversations I've had from students from coast to coast to coast, the two biggest priorities that have been identified time and time again were student financial aid and student mental health,” Metcalfe said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2023.