Student Loan Medical and Parental Leave

Summary#

These final amendments to the Canada Student Loans Regulations let some federal student-loan holders pause repayment and stop interest if they leave full-time studies because of a medical or parental leave. The change took effect on October 1, 2020.

What it does#

• Adds definitions for “medical leave,” “parental leave,” and “period of postponement of repayment.”
• Allows the Minister of Employment and Social Development to grant a postponement of repayment (no principal repayment and no interest) to a borrower who stops being a full-time student on or after October 1, 2020, if they apply in the required time.
• Sets the basic postponement length at 6 months. If approved, the borrower is treated as if they are still a full‑time student for that 6‑month period.
• Lets a borrower ask to extend that postponement to 12 months, and later to 18 months, under set timing rules.
• Limits how often a borrower can apply: they cannot submit a new application for another leave within 30 days after the first day of their current confirmed postponement.
• Makes technical adjustments about how weeks of full‑time study are counted for loan rules.

Who's affected#

• Borrowers with a guaranteed federal student loan who stopped being full‑time on or after October 1, 2020 because of a medical problem or because of birth, adoption, or becoming a guardian or tutor of a child.
• The changes are administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (through the Minister).
• The item also affects how loan administrators and schools report and count weeks of full‑time study, because of the technical counting changes.

Why it matters#

• If you had to leave school for health reasons or to care for a new child, this lets you pause loan repayments and stop interest for a period, easing immediate financial pressure.
• The rule preserves a borrower’s “full‑time student” status for the postponement period, which can matter for other student‑loan rules tied to that status.
• There are firm time limits for applying and for asking extensions, so affected borrowers need to meet those deadlines to get the benefit.