Ottawa plans on making its pandemic pause on student loans permanent (but you’ll still have to pay interest on the provincial part of the loan). The elimination of interest will begin April 1, 2023.

Graduating students will still be able to use the repayment assistance plan, allowing them to pause student loan repayment until they are making at least $40,000 per year, and reducing payments for those earning slightly above that amount.

According to the Toronto Star, more than 1.8 million Canadian students owe the federal government a total of $20.5 billion, based on 2019 data from the Government of Canada website, with the average loan balance at about $13,367 at the time of leaving school.

This is fantastic news for the millions of Canadians with student loans. Hopefully this will relieve the burden on many Canadians and their families and also encourage Gen Zs and future Canadian youth to pursue their dreams and feel less at financial risk pursuing post secondary education.