Federal Budget Supports Students, Young People and Applied Research

Posted on Monday, April 19th, 2021

The federal budget released Monday, A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth and Resilience, outlines several investments related to the post-secondary education sector, including $5.7 billion over the next five years to help young people pursue and complete their education, ease student loan debt and create new job placement opportunities.

“We are pleased to see that the federal government has recognized the impact of the pandemic on young people and students, and is putting forth measures to address their financial challenges – including support for student assistance, child care, youth employment and skills training,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO. “New investment in applied research at polytechnics, colleges and institutes will also create great opportunities for our learners.”

A major commitment of the budget is its reform to the Canada Student Loans Program. The budget extends the waiver of interest accrual on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans until March 31, 2023. The proposed reforms also include:

  • Increasing the threshold for repayment assistance to $40,000 for borrowers living alone. This means that nobody earning $40,000 per year or less will need to make any payments on their student loans.
  • Reducing the cap on monthly student loan payments from 20 per cent of household income to 10 per cent.
  • Indexing eligibility for repayment assistance to inflation.
  • Extending the doubling of the Canada Student Grants until the end of July 2023.
  • Extending disability supports under the Canada Student Loans Program to recipients whose disabilities are persistent or prolonged, but not necessarily permanent.

The budget is also aiming to reduce fees for parents with children in regulated child care by 50 per cent on average by 2022, with a goal of reaching $10 per day on average by 2026, everywhere outside of Quebec.

“Many of our leaners can be hindered in reaching their full potential by the costs of child care. Any additional supports to help them achieve their life goals comes as welcome news,” added Brulé.

Other budget 2021 highlight include:

  • $46.9 million over two years, starting in 2021-22, to support additional research partnerships between colleges, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and businesses through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s College and Community Innovation Program.
  • Extending the $1,600 adult learner top-up to the full-time Canada Student Grant for an additional two school years—until July 2023.
  • Making permanent the ability to use current year income instead of the previous years to determine eligibility for Canada Student Grants.
  • $239.8 million in the Student Work Placement Program in 2021-22. This funding would increase the wage subsidy available for employers to 75 per cent, up to $7,500 per student, while also increasing employers’ ability to access the program.
  • $109.3 million in 2022-23 for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
  • $371.8 million in new funding for Canada Summer Jobs.

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