OTTAWA, August 7th 2024 - Students from coast to coast to coast have identified two pillars that the federal government can use to support students in the upcoming federal budget: “Ensuring Equitable Access to Post-Secondary Education” and “Supporting Student Productivity and Innovation”. CASA’s 2025 Pre-Budget submission contains a series of recommendations that support the previously mentioned pillars. In brief, these recommendations are as follows:

1. Invest $1.07 billion annually to permanently set Canada Student Grant maximums at $4,200 per year  and maintain weekly loan maximums at $300/week.
2. Narrow the Indigenous post-secondary education gap by raising Post-Secondary Student Support Program and equivalent Metis and Inuit programs to $750 million annually to reflect increasing Indigenous secondary school graduation rates. 
3. Attract the next generation of tradespeople by doubling funding to the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant at a total of $265 million per year.
4. Invest $207.6 million annually in the Student-Work Placement Program through the 2027-28 program year to create more work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students
5. Maintain competitive Canadian graduate student funding levels by indexing awards to inflation at a cost of $230 million over five years.
6. Retain more Canadian-trained students by revising the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System score for a Canadian post-secondary credential to 80 for 3+ year degrees and 30 for programs of at least 1 year.

With the release of this document, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations is hopeful that the 2025 federal budget will reflect the needs that students across the country have identified as important and meaningful for the future of post secondary education in Canada. Read the full submission at the attached file.

About CASA        

Established in 1995, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization composed of 25 student associations across the country. Through our partnership with the Quebec Student Union/Union étudiante du Québec, CASA represents 365,000 post-secondary students across Canada. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Canadian Alliance of Student Associations

Max Greer 

Communications and Creative Content Officer

(289)-214-8608

[email protected]