Here are the federal initiatives currently in place to assist and support students and youth. If you have any questions please email [email protected].

Changes to the Canada Student Loans Program

We made changes to the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to allow more students to qualify for support and be eligible for greater amounts.

The changes include:

• doubling the Canada Student Grants for all eligible full-time students to up to $6,000 and up to $3,600 for part-time students in 2020-21. The Canada Student Grants for Students with Permanent Disabilities and Students with Dependents would also be doubled.
• broadening eligibility for student financial assistance by removing the expected student’s and spouse’s contributions in 2020-21.
• raising the maximum weekly amount that can be provided to a student in 2020-21 from $210 to $350.

For more information visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education/student-aid.html

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ)

Employers will receive a subsidy of 100% to cover the cost of hiring students. Time frames for job placements are also extended until the winter, and students will be able to work part-time.

• 10,000 new jobs were created through the Canada Summer Jobs program. This is in addition, to the 70,000 already announced. 

Please note that in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Department is implementing temporary flexibilities for Canada Summer Jobs 2020 in order to be more responsive to the challenges facing employers and youth. As a result, not all funding decisions have been finalized.

Jobs that have been approved for funding to date are advertised on Job Bank Youth are encouraged to consult the site regularly as additional jobs will be posted.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)

The CESB closed to applications on September 30, 2020. You can no longer apply for this benefit. If you continue to need income support, go to the COVID-19 benefits page.

This benefit will provide $1250 per month from May through August for eligible students and $2000 for students with dependents or permanent disabilities. As of June 11, 2020 there have been 827,660 approved applications.

Student Work Placement Program 

Supporting an additional 20,000 job placements for post-secondary students in high demand sectors. A new investment of $186 million in the Student Work Placement Program will help more post-secondary students across Canada get paid work experience related to their field of study. This funding is in addition to the $80 million that was announced on April 22, 2020.

Youth Employment and Skills Strategy 

The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy is creating over 3,500 new job placements and internships. The new funding of $34 million, in addition to the over $153 million announced on April 22, will support programs serving high-demand sectors such as health, community services, and information technology, and help other sectors to recover.

The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) aims to provide flexible employment services and enhanced supports for young Canadians so they can develop the skills and gain the experience they need to successfully transition into the labour market.

The $34 million in additional contributions funding for YESS will include:

• $15 million to Employment and Social Development Canada to support up to 2,000 additional job placements for young people aged 15 to 30 in community services and high demand sectors.

Tuition Supports

To ensure students are confidently able to continue their studies in the fall our Government is proposing significant measures to support their financial needs.

This includes the following

• Doubling Canada Student Grants Program
• Broadening the eligibility for Student Financial Assistance
• Enhancing the Canada Student Loans Program
• Increasing support for Indigenous Post-Secondary Education
• Extending expiring federal graduate research scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships as well as federal research grants.