FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, November 3, 2022 - Today, the Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, presented the Fall Economic Statement 2022 in the House of Commons and student loan borrowers across Canada are taking a sigh of relief.

The Government of Canada has announced several measures for students, including the permanent elimination of interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans, starting on April 1st, 2023. This investment of $2.7 billion over five years, then $556.3 million ongoing will provide students financial relief for years to come.

“This is a monumental investment for students across Canada,” said Christian Fotang, Chair of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). “The removal of interest on all Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans is a welcome change for past, current, and future student loan borrowers.”

According to government projections, this investment is estimated to save the average student loan borrower an average of $410 over the lifetime of their federal student loan.

Other notable investments for students in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement include:

• $301.4 million over two years for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, starting in 2023-24;

• $400.5 million over two years for the Canada Summer Jobs, starting in 2023-24;

• $50 million in 2022-23 for Immigrations, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada to address ongoing application backlogs, and to speed up processing times.

“CASA is glad to see the government take this needed step to support former, current and future post-secondary students in this time of inflated costs,” said Mackenzy Metcalfe, Executive Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. “The investments proposed in the Fall Economic Statement will support students as they make the difficult transition from students to members of Canada’s workforce.”

This announcement is sparking attention from students as the CASA prepares to gather student leaders from across the country for a week of advocacy from November 21st to 25th, 2022. These student leaders will be eager to discuss what this announcement means to students on their campuses and additional ways the government can further improve the post-secondary education sector in Canada.

-30-

About CASA:

Established in 1995, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit, national student organization composed of 24 student associations. With its partnership with the Quebec Student Union (QSU), CASA represents a total of 365,000 students across Canada and presents a national student voice to the federal government. CASA advocates for a Canadian post-secondary education system that is accessible, affordable, innovative, and of the highest quality.

Contact:

Mackenzy Metcalfe

Executive Director

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 226-347-7656