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.
Those changes are part of a set of affordability measures in the budget and build on the Liberals’ move to permanently remove interest charges on federal student loans.
In the budget, the government also promised 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.
From food to rent to tuition, Metcalfe said students are facing financial pressures.
“It’s just really important to know that students pocketbooks are being pinched, just as every Canadians are right now,” Metcalfe said.
The federal 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.