Minister Qualtrough highlights benefits to students in Government’s plan to build an economy that works for everyone

News release

November 10, 2022      Surrey, British Columbia   Employment and Social Development Canada       

In the recent 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada highlighted its plan to continue its sound stewardship of the economy and to be there for Canadians. To help families cope with increasing costs of everyday items, the Government is delivering targeted support to the Canadians who need it the most, including by: doubling the GST credit for 11 million eligible Canadians; enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit to support 4.2 million Canadians; making federal student and apprentice loans permanently interest-free for the graduates of today and tomorrow; and investing in more robust skills and training programs for youth.

The Government is also moving forward with its comprehensive plan to make housing more affordable, including by helping people save to buy a home and by cracking down on house flipping. And it lays out an ambitious plan to strengthen industry and build a thriving net-zero economy with opportunities and jobs.

Today, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, met with students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University to highlight how the Government is supporting students. The Fall Economic Statement proposes to permanently eliminate interest on Canada Student Loans and Apprentice Loans. Half of all post-secondary students in Canada rely on student loans to help them afford the cost of tuition and essentials during their studies. An average student loan borrower will save $410 per year as a result of their loan being interest-free.

Other measures introduced to make life more affordable include:

  • helping young Canadians afford a down payment faster with the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which will allow prospective first-time home buyers to save up to $40,000 tax-free toward their first home;
  • establishing the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit to help families across Canada afford to have a family member who is a senior or a son or daughter with a disability move back in if they need to;
  • providing advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit to put more money, sooner, into the pockets of our lowest-paid—and often most essential—workers; and
  • providing youth—particularly those from marginalized communities—with the support and opportunities they need to gain valuable skills and work experience through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, setting them up for a lifetime of success in the job market.

The Canadian economy faces global headwinds from a position of fundamental strength: an unemployment rate near its record low (over 500,000 more Canadians are working today than before the pandemic), the strongest economic growth in the G7 this year, a triple-A credit rating, and the lowest net debt-to-GDP and deficit-to-GDP ratios in the G7. Canadians should be confident that the country will overcome any hurdles and prosper in the days ahead.

Quotes

“While meeting with students from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, one thing was clear—life has become more expensive for all Canadians including students. This is why, through our Fall Economic Statement, our government is making permanent the elimination of interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans, resulting in savings of $410 per year for the average student loan borrower. Through recent enhancements to the Repayment Assistance Plan, students and recent graduates can also wait until they earn at least $40,000 per year before repaying their loans. Together, these measures will help ensure that young people have access to the supports they need to complete their studies, keep more money in their pockets, and successfully transition to the workforce.”

– Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

Quick facts

  • The federal government’s fiscal anchor—the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits and reducing the federal debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term—remains unchanged. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to continuously decline and is on a steeper downward track than projected in Budget 2022.

  • New measures proposed in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement include:

    1. Making life more affordable:

    • permanently eliminating interest on federal student and apprentice loans;
    • creating a new, quarterly Canada Workers Benefit with automatic advance payments to put more money back in the pockets of our lowest-paid workers, sooner;
    • delivering on key pillars of the Government’s plan to make housing more affordable, including the creation of a new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, a doubling of the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit, and ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share; and
    • lowering credit card transaction fees for small business.

    2. Investing in jobs, growth and an economy that works for everyone:

    • launching the new Canada Growth Fund, which will help bring to Canada the billions of dollars in new private investment required to reduce our emissions, grow our economy and create good jobs;
    • introducing major investment tax credits for clean technologies and clean hydrogen that will help create good jobs and make Canada a leader in the net-zero transition, and incentivizing higher wages for workers by increasing the level of the credit when certain labour protections are met;
    • implementing a new tax on share buybacks by public corporations in Canada; and
    • creating the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre and investing in a new sustainable jobs stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program to equip workers with the skills required for the good jobs of today and the future.

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Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact:

Tara Beauport
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough
tara.beauport@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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