Canadian federal grants, assistance and forgiveness
Canada Student Grants and what income they are set against, the Repayment Assistance Plan and how its two stages work, and loan forgiveness which now covers seventeen occupations rather than two.
Canada Student Grants
Grants do not have to be repaid, and they are assessed from the same application as the loan. The amount tapers with the previous year's gross family income.
| Grant | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students | $525 a month of study Published as $4,200 a year on the federal page and as $6,300 on Ontario's, and both are right. The cap is $525 a month, so an eight-month year comes to $4,200 and a twelve-month programme to $6,300. Quoting the annual figure alone understates the grant for anyone in a longer programme. |
| Canada Student Grant for Part-Time Students | $2,520 a year Capped at assessed need. |
| Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students with Dependants | $280 a month of study Per dependant. |
| Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities | $2,800 a year Flat, regardless of assessed need. |
Two official pages give two different annual figures, and both are right
Published as $4,200 a year on the federal page and as $6,300 on Ontario's, and both are right. The cap is $525 a month, so an eight-month year comes to $4,200 and a twelve-month programme to $6,300. Quoting the annual figure alone understates the grant for anyone in a longer programme.
| Family size | Full grant below | No grant at or above |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38,474.00 | $69,987.00 |
| 2 | $54,412.00 | $98,017.00 |
| 3 | $66,641.00 | $117,317.00 |
| 4 | $76,952.00 | $129,769.00 |
| 5 | $86,033.00 | $141,180.00 |
| 6 | $94,245.00 | $151,937.00 |
| 7 or more | $101,797.00 | $161,321.00 |
The current maximums are temporary
The $300 weekly loan maximum and the 40% grant increase are temporary and expire on 31 July 2027. They were introduced for 2023-24 and have been extended one year at a time ever since. The base weekly maximum underneath them is $210.
Lifetime limits: 340 weeks of full-time study, 400 for a doctoral programme, and 520 for a student with a disability.
The Repayment Assistance Plan
Below the income threshold for your household size the plan asks for nothing. Above it, the payment is capped at a tenth of family income. You reapply every 6 months, and the plan lapses if you do not.
For the first 60 months, or until you are ten years out of school, the government covers the interest your payment does not, so the principal holds steady. After that it covers principal too, which is what brings the loan to zero inside 15 years, or 10 for a borrower with a disability.
One consequence to weigh before applying
Once the federal government has made a principal payment on your behalf, you cannot receive further Canada Student Grants or Loans until the existing ones are repaid. If you might go back to study, that matters. It does not apply to the disability version of the plan.
Loan forgiveness
This stopped being a doctors-and-nurses programme on 31 December 2025. Seventeen occupations now qualify across three tiers, and ten of them were added on that date.
Up to $60,000.00 over five years
Family doctors, Family medicine residents, Dentists, Psychologists, Pharmacists.
Paid as $8,000, then $10,000, then $12,000, then $14,000, then $16,000 across the five years of service.
Up to $30,000.00 over five years
Nurse practitioners, Registered nurses, Licensed practical nurses, Registered practical nurses, Registered psychiatric nurses, Midwives, Teachers, Social workers, Physiotherapists.
Paid as $4,000, then $5,000, then $6,000, then $7,000, then $8,000 across the five years of service.
Up to $15,000.00 over five years
Early childhood educators, Dental hygienists, Personal support workers.
Paid as $2,000, then $2,500, then $3,000, then $3,500, then $4,000 across the five years of service.
Newly eligible since 31 December 2025
Dentists, Psychologists, Pharmacists, Midwives, Teachers, Social workers, Physiotherapists, Early childhood educators, Dental hygienists, Personal support workers.
What counts as an eligible community
A rural area, or a population centre of no more than 30,000 people. Over 200 communities became eligible under this definition, and there is a postal code lookup.
Two definitions run in parallel, and one is about to lapse
The previous definition, outside metropolitan areas, outside urban cores of 50,000 or more, and outside provincial capitals, still runs in parallel. It applies only to doctors and nurses, and only until after the 2026 census, which is happening now.
What the service has to look like
- Twelve consecutive months working in the occupation in an eligible community. Ten months for early childhood educators, psychologists, social workers, and teachers working in a school. The rule does not apply to family medicine residents.
- At least 400 hours of in-person service.
- The loan has to be in good standing, meaning payments are current.
- Ninety days to apply once a year of service is complete, then again each year. The five years do not have to be consecutive.
- Sick leave and parental leave are accommodated, whether covered by employment insurance, by a province, privately insured, unpaid or self-funded.
What it does not cover
- Only the federal portion of the loan. Provincial and territorial loans are untouched, though Saskatchewan and Manitoba run their own schemes on top.
- Loans converted to a line of credit are excluded, and so are private loans and Ontario Medical Resident Loans.
- Forgiveness applies to principal, after the twelve months of service. Payments continue in the meantime.
A restriction that starts this year
Private for-profit institutions, from 1 August 2026
From 1 August 2026, students at private for-profit institutions outside Canada lose federal funding, and most full-time students at private for-profit institutions in Canada lose the Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students. Students who received federal aid for the same programme at the same school in 2025-26 keep it until 31 July 2029. The federal page still marks the domestic half as pending approval while Alberta describes it as in force.
Sources
- Canada Student Loan forgiveness for family doctors and nurses, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the three tiers, their maximums and the amount for each year of service; the seventeen eligible occupations; the twelve-month and ten-month service requirements and the 400-hour minimum; the eligible community definition and the parallel legacy definition.
- Canada Student Grants and Loans, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the grant maximums and the income thresholds they are read against; the private for-profit institution restriction from 1 August 2026.
- Government of Canada extends financial supports for post-secondary students, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the $300 weekly loan maximum for 2026-27; that the uplift expires on 31 July 2027; the 60% federal share of assessed need.
- Interest-free loans for students, effective 1 April 2023, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the permanent elimination of federal interest on 1 April 2023.
- Repayment Assistance Plan, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the federal zero-payment monthly income thresholds by family size; the 10% cap on the affordable payment; the six-month application period; the 15-year horizon, and 10 years for a borrower with a disability.
- Pay back OSAP, Government of Ontario. Checked on . Backs Ontario's separate zero-payment thresholds; Ontario's 20% cap on the affordable payment; the Stage 1 and Stage 2 structure; interest on the Ontario portion at prime plus one percent.
- The Repayment Assistance Plan (backgrounder), Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the reduction of the affordable payment cap from 20% to 10% in November 2022.
Checked on .