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More statistics on Student Debt in Canada

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More statistics on Student Debt in Canada

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Marija Pandurov writes an article on worrying statistics and how they affect Canadian student loan borrowers. From her personal account and viewpoint on student debt, this is an important view from a real person, rather than a government talking-head on the important matter of student debt that affects all Canadians in some way.

Marija talks about how student loan debt has reached a staggering figure from 15-18.2 billion dollars, and how it is very likely on the higher end or more. How students can receive funding from government institutions, which 75% of students do, while 38% of students opt to receive funding from private institutions for a myriad of reasons. This is a huge factor in how the world has changed for students, and that how in the 1960's student loans were essentially 0 because colleges and universities were so affordable that most people could pay their way through with a single job. This no longer the case as with in 2017, student loans are up to more than 1.7 million Canadians, an insane rise that speaks heavily about our economic system, and the predatory nature of academic and financial institutions.

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13 Student Debt in Canada Statistics [Updated in 2023]

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Did you know that total student debt in Canada is at least $18 billion. Let’s have a closer look at the latest student debt in Canada statistics.

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Martin Leung talks about how he managed his student debt by utilizing all the tools available to him and how anyone new approaching post-secondary education can leverage these tools as well to best manage their potential debt situation.

Martin speaks about being smart with loans, and how budgeting is the first line of defense with managing spending habits, so that there is some money left over to make payments if necessary. Importantly, he talks about how loans have a 0% interest rate while in study, and taking advantage of lowering the amount owed right from the beginning is the best way to protect against interest rates later down the road. He speaks about interest rates themselves, and how you should expect to receive a certain value based on what the government of Canada has set interest rates at, so that you can do some calculations to see how far your money stretches when compared to these numbers.
Alternative funding is something Martin also speaks about, and most importantly talking about how payday loans are the single worst way to manage your debt. He speaks about how these are a "hell no" in his eyes, and how they are predatory and often market to students for the idea of quick cash, and how it is best to just avoid them altogether.

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What Every Student NEEDS to know about OSAP (Student loans Explained) | avoiding student debt canada

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This a padlet on student loan debt and how students navigate this issue. We will look at plenty of personal accounts, as well as government statistics that back-up those claims.
Student Loan Debt has been a contentious topic for decades now, and it's high-time we discuss the real story.

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This video follows the academic journey of a young woman who found herself staring at a seemingly impossible amount of debt once she was nearing her graduation while attending law school.

This young woman speaks about her debt as "dream crushing" and how she never imagined herself being so limited by a monetary value so much so that she feels she cannot actually achieve her career goals. Her hopes to open a law practice and work for herself have been essentially dashed, as she cannot fathom taking on any more debt than the whopping $150,000 she has accumulated already. She state that she hit a "rock bottom" of sorts a year prior to the interview when she had to use up the entirety of her line of credit to offset the pressure from her financial institution, all the while still having a full year of law school left to attend before graduation. Stories like these are heart-breaking because we see our government almost actively overlook the growing issue of people taking offers for higher education with outrageous bills to pay after. As well as not having as many job opportunities after the fact.

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'It's dream crushing': Ottawa University law student opens up about being $150,000 in debt

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This video features a couple who talk about their experiences with student loans and how they wish they managed them better, and although they're doing okay, they provide some tips and tricks on how to better educate yourself about approaching the daunting task.

Key points that they spoke about was their general thoughts on student debt, most importantly, that students need to take as much money as they need, and not always taking the entire amount especially if you don't need it. Especially because the more money you take, the more interest you owe, so taking all that additional money isn't always as good as it first appears.
Another huge factor that they talked about was choosing an affordable school, and not falling for the glamour or hype about attending a specific school because other people are, or that there is some perceived prestige about attending that school.
They spoke about financial aid options, such as applying for grants to mitigate the loan, and how easy some of them are. Some grants are simply given to students who apply if they are the only person in their family to attend a collegiate institute, so understanding that there is free money is a huge player in lowering the amount owed.

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STUDENT LOAN DEBT: What I Wish I Knew (Canada)

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Even politicians try to run on the issue. 

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Even politicians try to run on the issue. 

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Although apolitical, this is the website for the Liberal party of Canada and their stance on student loan debt, speaking on the issues that Canadians face and how they wish to stent the issue from growing any further, as stated directly, they have placed a moratorium on student debt while in power in hopes that some financial relief is provided to Canadians.

This is clearly an issue facing Canadians, and not as simply brushed off as laziness by some older generations when they hear personal accounts from people about how crippling their student debt is. The Liberal party of Canada has run on the idea of permanently removing interest on student loans due to how widespread this financial crisis is. According to their website and campaign, culling student loans will benefit "over 1 million student loan borrowers" and they also state that can save loan borrowers $3,000 over the course of their lifetime. This alone is telling, as the powers-that-be are beginning to see that if they do not stop a rampant system of loan trapping, that the financial divide will be so great that it affects all levels of society.

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During the pandemic, we waived interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans for two years because we knew young people were amongst the hardest hit by job losses. As we look towards the future, we believe that no one should be deterred from pursuing an education because interest costs make it unaffordable.
A re-elected Liberal government will:

Permanently eliminate the federal interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans to support young Canadians who choose to invest in post-secondary education. This will benefit over 1 million student loan borrowers and save an average borrower more than $3,000 over the lifetime of their loan.

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Permanently Eliminating Interest on Canada Student Loans | Liberal Party of Canada

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Permanently Eliminating Interest on Canada Student Loans During the pandemic, we waived interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans for two years because we knew young people were amongst the hardest hit by job losses. As we look towards the future, we believe that no one should be deterred from pursuing an education ...

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Fear grows on the topic of Student Loans. 

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Fear grows on the topic of Student Loans. 

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This article talks on how the pandemic has hit student loan borrowers even harder than times previous. Speaking specifically on how loan moratoriums have been put in place in attempt to help students in debt, but that the payments do not cease in lieu of brighter plans for managing this debt crisis.

There is clearly a tug-of-war between policy makers and activists, as the government had enacted a freeze on student debt interest rates for the "federal portion of loans" but the issue is claimed that this is simply a band-aid and does not help recent graduates. One graduate that was interviewed stated the headline of the article, "too little, too late", and she has become an activist with #FreezeTheNSLSC campaign, because although the interest rate was changed, students were still expected to pay back their loans and make monthly payments. Some outrageous claims have been made stating that some students interviewed had to make payments of up to $200/month, and some even soaring higher at $800/month, all the while the pandemic was raging and those who were sick were unable to work.

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TORONTO -- Starting April 1, the interest rate has been set to zero per cent for the federal portion of student loans, but activists say that's not enough to support recent graduates, many of whom continue to struggle to find jobs as the pandemic persists.​

The proposal to drop the interest rate is included in Bill C-14, which sets out to implement measures included in the fall economic update. While that bill has yet to pass the House of Commons, the National Student Loans Services Centre (NSLSC) has already implemented the interest moratorium, which will last until March 31, 2022.​

Patty Facy, who graduated from the University of Toronto last year with a Master of Information degree, said the moratorium is "too little, too late." Facy is part of the #FreezeTheNSLSC campaign, started by recent graduates calling on the federal government to freeze student loan repayments during the pandemic.

During the first wave of the pandemic last spring, the federal government implemented a freeze on student loan repayments for six months until Oct. 1, 2020. This time around, loan holders will still be required to make their monthly payments, although federal interest will stop accumulating.

The interest moratorium also won't apply to the provincial portion of student loans, although some provinces like British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba don't charge provincial interest.

"(Monthly payments) are in the hundreds of dollars for people. I've seen people that have $200 a month, up to $800 a month," said Facy in a phone interview on Wednesday. "It doesn't really actually provide short-term solution to the fact that there's a pandemic and people are struggling to make ends meet. It just seems like very negligible sort of relief measure."

NDP MP Heather McPherson, who represents Edmonton Strathcona and serves as the party's deputy House leader, says that students were unfairly left out of the equation when the federal government extended financial support for employed and self-employed individuals through the Canada Recovery Benefit and for businesses.

"We knew the economy wasn't going to be coming back, there weren't going to be jobs for recent graduates, so it felt cruel to have them have to start making their loan repayments at a time when we had money for small and large corporations, we had money for individuals, but we didn't have money for students? It just was absurd to me," said McPherson in a phone interview on Thursday.

McPherson put forward a non-binding motion in the House of Commons back in November calling for another moratorium on student loan repayments, which passed with unanimous consent before the fall economic statement was announced.

"Every single member of the government agreed that the smart thing to do was to have a moratorium on student loan repayments. That's what a unanimous consent motion is. It means that they said, 'yep, we agree that this is something we need to do,' and then they didn't do it at all," McPherson said.

The Conservatives have also criticized the government's handling of federal student loans. Steveston-Richmond East MP Kenny Chiu, who is also the Conservative critic for diversity, inclusion and youth issues, said in the House of Commons in February that the government ought to have retroactively cancelled interest that was charged after the initial moratorium expired last October.

"​​The Liberals had months to reassess and act on student loan interest measures and did nothing until it was too late. Now students have had months of unnecessary interest accrual due to what has become all too common: Liberal incompetence," said Chiu.

​Marielle Hossack, a spokesperson for federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough's office told CTVNews.ca on Thursday in an emailed statement that the interest freeze will bring "more than $329 million in relief to up to 1.4 million Canadians."

"We know students and young Canadians are still facing challenges, and we will continue to do what it takes to be there to support and help them get through these challenging times," Hossack said.

When asked in the House of Commons why the Liberals have not frozen student loan repayments, Qualtrough pointed to the Repayment Assistance Program (RAP), which allows graduates to avoid making repayments until they earn at least $25,000 per year.

"We have improved the repayment assistant program so applicants would not have to repay their student loan until they are earning at least $25,000 per year. We have expanded eligibility for Canada student grants and loans for part-time students and students with dependent children. We will continue to be there to support students and remain committed to making post-secondary education more affordable," said Qualtrough on March 22.

But eligible loan holders need to first apply to the program through the NSLSC, which has been plagued by clogged phone lines, backlogs and delays.

"That centre is deeply under-resourced and deeply broken, so students weren't even able to get hold of the centre for months at a time," said McPherson. "The system itself is so broken. You put a system in place that's deeply flawed, deeply broken, doesn't go far enough, and then you make it so that students can't access it. I mean, can you imagine something more frustrating?"

During the 2019 federal election, the Liberals also promised to raise the eligibility of RAP to those making up to $35,000 per year, something that has yet to be implemented.

"Clearly, the government is aware that that's not enough. It's not providing adequate relief to begin with. And that was before the pandemic. You can imagine now that that there are people that need loan relief that are making more than $25,000 gross income and they don't qualify for the RAP," said Facy.​

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'Too little, too late': Feds freeze student loan interest, but monthly repayments continue

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TORONTO -- Starting April 1, the interest rate has been set to zero per cent for the federal portion of student loans, but activists say that's not enough to support recent graduates, many of whom continue to struggle to find jobs as the pandemic persists.​ The proposal to drop the interest rate is included in Bill C-14, which sets out to implement measures included in the fall economic update.

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"What did you learn about the topic that surprised you the most?"
Honestly, just how widespread the issue of student loans are, and how for some people, it ruins their lives and the very reason they planned to go to school at all. It's a shame that there isn't enough education on how to approach student loans, and how it's almost insidious in nature considering how much the government profits from students having to pay back insane loans with interest. Most surprising is honestly that, just how much we are not taught about the importance of financial planning in high-school or other points in our lives where we should be taught more about real life issues.

"Provide a real-life example of how this topic is relevant or interesting for you."
It's shocking just how fortunate the both of us are that we have the financial means and support to not find ourselves in the position that many Canadians do. We attend the same program, one that is actually quite expensive for a college program (~$25,000) for two years when factoring in other costs that we have to pay for like our uniforms, licensing and gas for traveling to placements. So not having to worry about paying off a debt with interest, or staring down the barrel of a gun that is $50,000+ in debt, all the while not having a job lined up or much uncertainty about it. We do not face that issue because there are always jobs for paramedics, and with our schooling they essentially set us up with jobs at the end.

"If you could pass on your knowledge to a family member or friend, what do you think is the most important thing to pass on?"
Mason: I honestly think that looking at grants is incredibly important, and not something that people should overlook, because I basically had most of my loans covered by grants and I am incredibly fortunate and grateful that I applied for many of them. My loan went from $9,000 to be repaid, to only having to pay ~$2,000 back when I'm finished school (for this year).
Aidan: Budgeting is paramount, don't just rush into school and worry about the money later. I planned for a few years and saved money simply just to go to school, and now I don't have to worry all that much about food or unexpected expenses like a lot of my classmates do, especially the younger ones. School isn't something you must do when you're right out of high school, and it worked out for me and most other people I know that waiting for school saved me a ton of money in the long run because I was also better mentally prepared for it too.

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Although the figure in the GIF is outlandish, the sentiment isn't far off. Some students who cannot afford to make monthly payments, or cannot manage their debt well enough will fall victim to interest trapping. The issue really coincides with wages as a whole, falling job opportunities, and growing prices systemically; whether that be for food, rent, utilities, insurance, car payments. Students may experience outrageous interest payments for their debt. Some memoirs from students I have personally met have stated that they have opted to "eat nothing but popsicles" so that they can financially manage their debts.

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This can feel like a never-ending cycle of paying off money for some students. We have discussed that as students who attend higher level of education such as Masters and Doctorates interestingly have less student debt in the end compared to lower level of study graduates. This can be correlated to those who have the means to attend higher level education have familial or investment backing, compared to those who may be attending school to make more money and may not necessarily have the same financial backing.

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Student Debt Statistics - Government of Canada

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Student Debt Statistics - Government of Canada

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Provided is a statistical analysis performed by the Government of Canada regarding student debt from all sources, across all levels of study, location, and focusing on specifics such as: those with debt remaining, how much debt remains after graduation and amount, etc.

We can see the upward trend of average debt owed from graduates after finishing their program, and as it increases by level of study, from entry-level college programs, all the way up to Doctorate programs. As stated in a video on this wall by Global News, the trend is steady at students who have paid off their full student debt by the time of interview for statistical analysis, that ~4/10 students have paid off their debt. This figure varies, but over the course of 15 years, from 2000, to 2015 students have hovered from 20-40% of those who have managed to pay their debt off by the time of interview. More importantly, we can see that graduates that remain with debt hovers around 50%, interestingly enough, that number gets lower at the higher ends reaching Doctorate level of study.

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Student debt from all sources, by province of study and level of study

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Statistics on student debt, including the average debt at graduation, the percentage of graduates who owed large debt at graduation and the percentage of graduates with debt who had paid it off at the time of the interview, are presented by the province of study and the level of study.

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This video by Global News describes the varying degrees to which people of all backgrounds manage their student loan debt, and why some people are in a tougher spot than others when it comes to paying this debt off.
The staggering figure stated in this video is that Canadians owe 36 billion, yes, with a "b" - dollars in student loan debt, and why the rate of paying off this debt has become harder over the years. As mentioned in the video, only 4 out of 10 Canadians can pay off their student loan debt within 3 years of graduating, while some have accumulated such a staggering amount of debt that it is not feasible; all for attending a program in hopes of them getting a higher-paying job. For some, it's the normal cost of education that ends up being simply too much, and with falling wages it's very difficult to meet even the monthly payments of the loan; let alone paying for food, rent and other bills. For others, it's switching programs, choosing longer stays at school and attempting to get too high of an education without realizing the true cost of tuition, and not being able to foresee the income required to offset the price.

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Which Canadians may struggle the most to pay off their student loans?