This is Trish's CSG Story
Trish is a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy
Trish works as the Vice President External and is the Indigenous Student Representative at Athabasca University Student Union and as a research assistant, all while attending classes to complete her degree.
Trish has been working since she was 14 years old. She climbed the ranks throughout her life, but eventually, she encountered a ceiling; deciding to pursue post-secondary education to surpass this obstacle.
Trish relies on programs like Canada Student Grants to fund her post-secondary education, but in July 2023, COVID-19 increases in Canada Student Grants will end, meaning federal grant maximums for students will fall from $6000 to $3000.
Losing the grant funding would be devastating; especially as a mature student with dependants. The extra grant funding made a huge difference, allowing her to continue to assist her family as she attends school.
Through this, Trish still hopes to pursue a master's in Architecture so she can improve housing in her community.
Even with a full-time job and two research assistant jobs she still doesn’t feel like she can comfortably afford PSE. The threat of losing half of her grant funding puts Trish’s academic journey at risk, with rising costs of tuition, rent, housing, and food in Alberta.
Students across Canada, like Trish, are worried about being able to afford necessities amid the rising cost of living.
Click the link to tell the Government of Canada how decreases in Canada Student Grants will impact your post-secondary education.
#HalfYourCSG
ABOUT CASA
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is launching the #HalfYourCSG campaign to emphasize the importance and impact that permanently doubling funding to Canada Student Grants will have on students across the country. CASA is a non-partisan, not-for-profit advocacy organization representing students at 23 student associations across the country. Through our partnership with the Québec Student Union/Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ), CASA represents 365,000 students across Canada. CASA advocates for accessible, affordable, innovative, and high quality post-secondary education in Canada. For over 25 years, CASA has done so successfully through policy and research development, awareness campaigns, government relations efforts, and partnerships with other stakeholders in the education sector.
