THUNDER BAY – LETTERS to The Editor – We are writing to express our disappointment with the provincial government’s decision to change the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) from a high-grant model to a loan-heavy approach. Starting August 1, 2026, the Ontario government is restructuring OSAP to significantly reduce non-repayable grants, replacing them with more loans. Key changes include capping provincial grants at 25% (down from 85%) and increasing loans to at least 75% of aid.
We discussed the proposed changes at our recent youth council meeting, and there was a consensus that this will make post-secondary education out of reach for many students from low-income families. It will also mean more debt for students to pay back and is happening when youth unemployment is high, and many families are struggling financially to make ends meet.
This considerable decrease in financial aid will deter many high school students from even pursuing post-secondary education. This change does not benefit current post-secondary students, nor will it benefit future post-secondary students. Accessible and affordable education should be available to everyone. Young people should not feel forced to give up on their reams, careers or futures simply because they are not able to pay thousands of dollars in school fees. Many of us attending high school now do not know how our sruggling parents will be able to support us to pursue higher education.
Premier Doug Ford has argued that the change is necessary because the current OSAP structure is unsustainable. This makes us wonder why a rich province such as Ontario wants to raise the fees for post-secondary education when university and college tuition in many European Union (EU) countries such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden, and Slovenia is free, and students just pay small administrative or semester fees. Even some developing countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya Morocco and Uruguay offer free college education to make higher learning more accessible to all citizens.
We want Ontario to invest in our human capacity to develop the province and tell Premier Ford to lead the way and provide the next generations of students with more accessible higher education. We should copy the EU model and join other countries offering free post-secondary education. Our province will benefit from of a well-educated workforce, and Canada will prosper in the intellectual world as we move towards a more knowledge-based economy.
Admire Kargbo and Georgette Hamilton
Regional Multicultural Youth Council, Thunder Bay
