Students at St. Anne’s high school walk out to protest cuts to OSAP

Students at St. Anne's Catholic High School walked out to protest against the recent cuts to OSAP funding. March 11, 2026. (Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News)

Local high school students are calling out the Ontario Premier over cuts to OSAP funding.

Approximately 25 students at St. Anne’s Catholic High School walked out on Wednesday afternoon to protest the recent cuts.

In mid-February, the province announced that OSAP money will shift from mostly grants to mostly loans starting this September.

Right now, students can get up to 85 per cent of their support through grants, however starting this fall, only 25 per cent will be grants, and 75 per cent will be loans.

Students across Ontario have been organizing similar walkouts, including one at Tecumseh Vista Academy on Wednesday.

Ali Zbib, a Grade 11 student, says Ford is hurting students across the province.

“We shouldn’t be having to pay more for our education. Our education values a lot to us, he’s trying to say we’re basket-weaving all of our classes when he didn’t even go to university,” said Zbib.

Gemma O’Keefe, a Grade 11 student, says the new funding ratios are unfair to many students.

“For a lot of people with the new percentage changes, even if they are able to eventually pay back the per cent that they must give, it makes it harder for them create a life for themselves afterwards because a lot of their money is going back to education and not to their new life,” she said.

Talia Congi, a Grade 9 student, says despite being a few years from graduating, her sister in Grade 12 will be impacted.

“I think it’s very important for students to get the education and then go on to be successful in life, and have jobs that they can rely on, and have a healthy family, and I feel like this is stopping this from happening,” said Congi.

Leah Lovie, a Grade 10 student, says it was important to her to support this walkout.

“Coming from a family that didn’t have a lot of money growing up, knowing that I might not be able to get the best education, that really scares me because I value education and it’s important to get around in life, and to go far in life,” she said.

Ford had stated that the changes had to be made to protect a sector that was in “dire financial straits” and faced the prospect of multiple closures.

The students at St. Anne’s are asking the Ford government to reassess the changes made.