Student Grants Doubled Through 2023

Summary#

These final regulations change the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations to extend temporary boosts to student grants and to make one income rule permanent. The main changes took effect on August 1, 2021 (with a small set of provisions coming into force on July 31, 2021). Practically, more students get larger non-repayable grants for the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 loan years (through July 31, 2023).

What it does#

• Extends the temporary doubling of Canada Student Grants for the loan years starting August 1, 2021 and August 1, 2022:
  • Full‑time grant increased up to $750 per month.
  • Part‑time grant increased up to $3,600 per loan year.
  • Grant for students with a permanent disability increased to $4,000 per loan year.
  • Full‑time students with dependants: up to $400 per dependant per month.
  • Part‑time students with dependants: up to $80 per week for 1–2 dependants, or $120 per week for 3+ dependants, to a total of $3,840 per loan year.
• Extends the adult‑learner top‑up of $1,600 (for people out of secondary school for at least 10 years) for the same two loan years.
• Makes permanent the option to use a student’s current year income (instead of the previous year’s) to decide grant eligibility.
• Replaces income threshold tables (Tables 7–11) for grant eligibility and phase‑out rates. Key threshold numbers include $32,102, $45,399, $55,602, $64,204, $71,782, $78,634, and $84,933.
• Adds an automatic adjustment: thresholds are adjusted on August 1, 2022 by the previous year’s Consumer Price Index (rounded to the nearest dollar), but they won’t be lowered if that produces a smaller number.
• Comes into force on August 1, 2021 (sections 8–10 on July 31, 2021).

Who's affected#

• Students who apply for help under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program:
  • Low‑ and middle‑income full‑time and part‑time students.
  • Students with dependants.
  • Students with permanent disabilities.
  • Adult learners who left high school at least 10 years ago.
• The federal department that runs the program, Employment and Social Development Canada, and the 10 provinces and territories that participate in the program (Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories do not participate and receive alternative payments).
• Estimated reach and scale from the government’s analysis:
  • About 582,000 students per year on average benefit from the doubled grants.
  • About 67,000 students per year benefit from the adult‑learner top‑up.
  • About 15,000 students per year benefit from the income‑assessment flexibility.

Why it matters#

• Students get more non‑repayable money. That lowers upfront costs and can reduce how much they need to borrow.
• The extra grant support aims to keep students in school during the COVID‑19 recovery and to help people retrain or upgrade skills.
• Adult learners and students with children or disabilities get targeted extra help (the $1,600 top‑up and higher dependant and disability grants).
• The government expects the changes to increase completion of post‑secondary education and future earnings for some students. Its cost‑benefit analysis projects a benefit‑to‑cost ratio of 3.5 to 1 and a net monetized benefit of about $8.7 billion (present value) over 10 years.
• If you are thinking of returning to school, are supporting children, have a disability, or have lost income recently, these rules are likely to make federal grant help larger and easier to get.