The Government of Canada recognizes that students and recent graduates are being significantly affected by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the number of post-secondary working students, aged 15-29, dropped by 28% from February 2020.

 

Many of the post-secondary students are concerned about the effect of the pandemic on their ability to continue their studies, secure and retain summer employment, pay their bills, and save for tuition in the fall. Additionally, students who are about to graduate might struggle to find employment in their field of study, which may in turn, have a negative impact on the value of their education over the long term.

 

The Canadian Government as a part of its COVID-19 Emergency Response Plan, has announced a few of the programs that will help students. In particular, we would like to highlight these two:

 

1. Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)

• The CESB is designed to provide comprehensive coverage for all students and new graduates, including those who graduated from December 2019 onward.
• Specifically, the CESB provides $1,250 per month for the next four months (May - August 2020).
• The CESB provides $1,750 for students with dependents and those with permanent disabilities
• The program allows students to earn up to $1,000 a month if their hours are cut due to COVID-19.

2. Canada Student Service Grant

To encourage students to participate in the COVID-19 response, the government will launch a new national service initiative to recognize students' significant contributions to the COVID-19 efforts, and provide support through a new Canada Student Service Grant which will provide up to $5,000 to support student's post-secondary education costs in the fall.

More details will be made available on the I Want to Help platform over the coming weeks, including more detailed information about eligibility, the levels of funding available under the grant, how to apply for a national service position, and how applications will be assessed.

 

Please see this these two sources for more information about the programs that are available to students:

Student Aid: A relief program that can drive innovation too

Support for Students and Recent Graduates Impacted by COVID-19

 

Our team will continue to follow the changes and update you as we learn more.