Student loans in Ontario
Ontario Student Assistance Program, what the Ontario half of your loan charges in interest, how the grace period works, and how repayment assistance is assessed.
- 5.45%Interest on the Ontario portion
- NoneInterest on the federal portion, since April 2023
- 6 monthsGrace period, and interest accrues
How the money reaches you
Federal and provincial aid arrive as one integrated loan with one payment through the National Student Loans Service Centre.
The programme is Ontario Student Assistance Program.
Interest on the provincial half
5.45%
Prime plus one percent, floating. Computed from the Bank of Canada prime rate.
Interest accrues during your grace period
This is one of the few places in Canadian student lending where capitalization still bites. Interest builds through the 6-month grace period and is added to the principal at the end of it, so you start repayment owing more than you borrowed. What that costs.
Repayment assistance
One application, two determinations. Ontario's zero-payment thresholds are roughly half the federal ones and its affordable payment is capped at 20% of family income rather than 10%, so a borrower can owe nothing federally and still owe Ontario a payment.
Worth knowing
- Interest accrues on the Ontario portion during the six-month grace period and is added to the principal at the end of it. This is one of the few remaining places in Canadian student lending where capitalization still bites.
- The grace period can be extended by another six months for someone who owns or co-owns a new Ontario business, or who works for or volunteers with a not-for-profit.
- Default amortization is 9.5 years, extendable to 14.5.
- Ontario Medical Resident Loans are excluded from Canada Student Loan Forgiveness.
What it costs to study here
The average Canadian undergraduate in Ontario paid $8,958.00 in tuition for 2025/2026.
| Field of study | Tuition |
|---|---|
| Dentistry | $40,048.00 |
| Medicine | $26,076.00 |
| Law | $22,250.00 |
| Pharmacy | $17,947.00 |
| Optometry | $15,952.00 |
| Engineering | $12,893.00 |
| Veterinary medicine | $11,484.00 |
| Business, management and public administration | $11,182.00 |
Sources
- Pay back OSAP, Government of Ontario. Checked on . Backs interest on the Ontario portion at prime plus one percent; that grace period interest is capitalized; the 9.5-year amortization and its extension; Ontario's separate repayment assistance thresholds and 20% cap.
- Prime rate, series V80691311, Bank of Canada. Checked on . Backs the 4.45% prime rate the provincial floating rates are computed from.
- 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.
- Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs survey (record 3123), Statistics Canada. Figures describe 2025/2026. Collected automatically on , so nobody checked this row by hand.
Checked on .