Canada Student Grant 2026-27: Amounts and Who Qualifies

Canada Student Grants for 2026-27 at a Glance

There are 6 federal Canada Student Grants for 2026-27, and Canada.ca says the amounts below apply until the end of the 2026 to 2027 school year (August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027). Five of them are assessed automatically from your provincial or territorial student aid application. The sixth, for services and equipment, needs extra paperwork.

Specifically, a full-time undergraduate in an 8-month program whose family income is under the maximum-grant line gets $4,200. A full-time student with 2 children under 12 and a recognized disability could, in principle, stack $4,200, plus $4,480 for the children, plus $2,800, before any services and equipment grant. Each grant still has its own need and income test, so your Notice of Assessment from the province is the only number to rely on.

Canada.ca's how-funding-works page also sets time limits. Full-time students can get federal student aid for a maximum of 340 weeks, doctoral students for up to 400 weeks and students with a disability for up to 520 weeks.

Income Thresholds: Will You Get the Full $4,200?

A single student with a previous-year gross family income below $38,474 qualifies for the maximum full-time grant in 2026-27, and one at or above $69,987 gets nothing, according to Canada.ca's full-time grant page. The thresholds below took effect on August 1, 2026, and the same table is used for the part-time grant. Between the 2 columns, the grant is reduced.

Canada.ca, income thresholds for Canada Student Grant eligibility for full-time and part-time students, effective August 1, 2026.

The dependant grants use the same lines from family size 2 upward. Part-time students with 3 or more dependants have their own lower table: for a family of 4, the maximum-grant line is $70,859 and the cut-off is $123,676.

Two things catch people out here. First, "family income" is gross income from the previous year, not what you expect to earn while studying, so a parent's or spouse's income from last year can push a student over the line even if the household's money has since dropped. Second, being under the cut-off isn't enough on its own: every grant also requires an assessed financial need, which your province works out from tuition, living costs and resources.

Which Provinces and Territories Use the Canada Student Grant

Ten of Canada's 13 provinces and territories take part in the federal program, and 3 run their own, according to Canada.ca. Where you apply depends on where you live, not where you study.

According to Employment and Social Development Canada's 2023-2024 annual report, the federal government funds about 60% of a full-time student's assessed need in participating provinces and territories, and the province or territory covers the remaining 40%. Applicants in the 10 participating jurisdictions are assessed for federal and provincial aid through a single application.

The 3 non-participating jurisdictions get alternative payments instead. In January 2025, Quebec received $926.8 million, Nunavut $6.3 million and the Northwest Territories $5.4 million, based on the program's 2023-24 spending, according to the same report. Their programs have different rules: the NWT's Student Financial Assistance page, for example, lists a Basic Grant of up to $3,320 a semester for tuition for Northern Indigenous residents and a deadline of June 30 for programs starting between August 1 and September 30.

If you live in Ontario, our guide to OSAP grants explains how Ontario's own grants sit on top of the federal money.

Grantsights Analysis of Federal Grant Data: Who Gets the Money

Canada Student Grants reached 586,021 students worth $2,613.5 million in 2023-24, according to the CSFA Program's open data and its 2023-2024 annual report. The full-time grant alone went to 494,290 students and paid $1,807.7 million, an average of about $3,657 per recipient.

Grantsights analysis of the CSFA Program's 2023-2024 annual report (Table 1) and open data tables 27, 28, 39, 40 and 43. Averages are total paid divided by recipients. Students can receive more than 1 grant, so the rows add up to more than the total.

Ontario accounts for most of the money. Grantsights analysis of the provincial tables found Ontario students received 349,025 of the 586,021 grants (60%) and $1,467.6 million in 2023-24. Alberta was second, with 109,160 recipients, and had the highest average full-time grant of any province, $4,135. The data doesn't say why.

Grantsights analysis of CSFA Program open data, tables 27, 28, 39, 40 and 43, 2023-24 academic year, downloaded October 29, 2026.

Three findings matter for your planning:

• Most recipients get close to the maximum, but not all of it. The average full-time grant in 2023-24 was $3,657, or 87% of that year's $4,200 maximum. Students between the 2 income lines, or in programs shorter than 8 months, get less.
• The disability grant has grown fast. Recipients rose from 52,621 in 2019-20 to 79,350 in 2023-24, up 51%. The 2022-2023 annual report says access was widened on August 1, 2022 to students with a persistent or prolonged disability, not only a permanent one, so it's worth asking whether your condition now counts.
• The grant amounts have moved up and down. Average full-time grants were $2,524 in 2019-20, about $5,000 a year from 2020-21 to 2022-23 while grants were temporarily doubled (the 2022-23 maximum was $6,000), and $3,657 in 2023-24 after the maximum was set at $4,200. The 2023-24 report describes that $4,200 as a 40% increase over 2019-20 amounts.

Where the official sources disagree, we used the newer and more detailed one. The open data's summary table by grant type (table 02) shows 0 disability-grant recipients for 2023-24, while the provincial table (43) and the 2023-24 annual report both show 79,350, so we used 79,350.

What Canada.ca Doesn't Tell You About the Canada Student Grant

Canada.ca lists each grant on its own page, so it's easy to miss the rules that knock people out. These are the common mistakes and red flags to check before you count on the money.

1. The $4,200 is only promised until July 31, 2027. Every 2026-27 amount on Canada.ca is worded "until the end of the 2026 to 2027 school year". As of October 29, 2026, Canada.ca hadn't published 2027-28 amounts. Students in a 4-year degree shouldn't budget on $4,200 for every year without checking again next summer.

2. Graduate students usually don't get the full-time grant. The full-time page says the grant is available "for each year of your undergraduate studies". If you're starting a master's or PhD, plan on loans, scholarships and your school's funding, not this grant.

3. Private career colleges lost the grant for most programs on August 1, 2026. Canada.ca's designated schools page says most full-time students at private, for-profit schools in Canada are no longer eligible for the full-time grant. For 2026-27 the exempt programs are nursing (practical, registered and psychiatric), dental hygiene, early childhood education and paramedic programs. Students at private, for-profit schools outside Canada lost all federal funding on the same date, though students already funded for their current program at the same school may still qualify until July 31, 2029. Canada.ca also lists a suspension of federal aid for Atlantic Business College for study periods starting on or after August 1, 2026. Check the school's status before you sign an enrolment contract.

4. Part-time grants depend on passing your past courses. The part-time grant requires that you've successfully completed the courses an earlier grant paid for. Dropping or failing a course can cost you next year's grant.

5. Repayment help can close the door to more grants. Canada.ca's Repayment Assistance Plan page says that once the federal government has paid toward your principal while you're on RAP, you can't receive more student grants or loans until you repay the unpaid loans. That rule doesn't apply to RAP for Borrowers with Disabilities. If you might go back to school, think about this before relying on RAP for years.

6. Money only arrives after enrolment is confirmed. Canada.ca's application page says you or your school must confirm enrolment through your NSLSC account before grant or loan money is released. Students who skip this step see their funds held.

7. Processing takes weeks, not days. Alberta Student Aid's home page says the majority of applications are processed within 30 days, manual reviews can take up to 45 days or longer at peak times, and it asks students to apply 60 days before their study start date. That's a useful benchmark wherever you live.

How to Apply and Realistic Timelines

Applying takes 1 application in most of the country: your province or territory's student aid form covers federal grants, federal loans and provincial aid together. Here's the order that works.

1. Check your school and program. Use Canada.ca's master list of designated educational institutions (opens in a new tab). Provinces and territories decide which schools and programs qualify, and a school can be designated while some of its programs aren't.
2. Estimate the federal part. The federal student aid estimator (opens in a new tab) gives a rough figure for Canada Student Grants and Loans. It doesn't include provincial or territorial aid.
3. Apply through your home province or territory. Use the office listed on Canada.ca's application page. For part-time aid in Manitoba, New Brunswick or Yukon, Canada.ca says you use the federal Part-Time Canada Student Grant and Loan Application for 2026 to 2027; elsewhere you apply on the provincial or territorial website.
4. Send disability documents if they apply. For the disability grants, include the documents that show your disability. For services and equipment, you'll also need written confirmation from a qualified person (a rehabilitation caseworker, an official from a centre for students with disabilities, a guidance counsellor or a financial aid administrator) and a document confirming the cost.
5. Sign the Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement once. The MSFAA covers present and future loans. You only re-sign after a 2-year break from school or a permanent move to another province or territory.
6. Read your Notice of Assessment. Your province or territory sends it, and it's the document that shows your grant and loan amounts.
7. Confirm enrolment at the NSLSC. Log in to the National Student Loans Service Centre so your school or you can confirm you're enrolled and the money can be released.

Full-time means at least 60% of a full course load, or 40% for students with disabilities, in a program of at least 12 weeks within 15 consecutive weeks, according to the definitions in the 2023-2024 annual report. Part-time means 20% to 59%. Protected persons can get the same grants and loans as citizens and permanent residents, according to Canada.ca, but need a valid Notice of Decision or protected persons status document and a SIN that stays valid for the whole study period.

Student Aid Scams: How to Spot a Fake

Student aid fraud mostly runs through impersonation: someone posing as the NSLSC, the CRA or a "grant consultant". The NSLSC's privacy and security page (opens in a new tab) is specific about what it will and won't ask for.

• The NSLSC will not ask for your credit card number or your NSLSC login credentials. Anyone who does isn't the NSLSC.
• The NSLSC may ask for your SIN, government ID or banking information by phone, so a request for those on its own doesn't prove a call is real. Hang up and confirm the NSLSC's number by calling 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232), as the NSLSC page advises.
• Don't email your SIN or banking details to anyone, including the NSLSC. Update personal information by logging in to your account or by calling 1-888-815-4514.
• Nobody can sell you access to a Canada Student Grant. You're assessed automatically and for free when you apply to your province or territory. A website or caller charging a fee to "unlock" or "speed up" a federal grant is a red flag.
• Report suspected fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (opens in a new tab), and see the CRA's scams and fraud page (opens in a new tab) for calls claiming to be from the tax agency.

Other Money to Check

The federal grant rarely covers a full year of costs, so stack it with work and other sources:

• Summer work. Our Canada Summer Jobs guide explains the federal wage subsidy that pays employers to hire people aged 15 to 30, which is how many students find paid summer placements.
• Ontario students. Read our OSAP grants guide for Ontario's own grant and loan rules for 2026-27.
• Students who want to start a business. Our guide to Futurpreneur and startup funding in Canada covers loans and mentoring for young founders, and our small business grants in Canada guide covers government programs once the business is running.
• Your RESP. Canada.ca reminds students that money saved in a Registered Education Savings Plan can be used alongside grants and loans.

Apply to your province or territory as early as its calendar allows, keep your disability and dependant documents ready, and recheck Canada.ca next spring for the 2027-28 amounts.

Sources Checked

All pages read and files downloaded on October 29, 2026.

• Canada.ca, Canada Student Grants and Loans (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, How student aid funding works (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, Apply for student grants and loans (provincial and territorial offices) (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca grant pages: full-time (opens in a new tab), part-time (opens in a new tab), full-time with dependants (opens in a new tab), part-time with dependants (opens in a new tab), students with disabilities (opens in a new tab), services and equipment (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, Master list of designated educational institutions and the full-time grant restriction (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, Repayment Assistance Plan (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, Student aid for protected persons (opens in a new tab)
• Canada.ca, Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (opens in a new tab)
• Employment and Social Development Canada, CSFA Program annual report 2023 to 2024 (opens in a new tab) and annual report 2022 to 2023 (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Canada open data, Student Financial Assistance Data for the CSFA Program (opens in a new tab) (tables 02, 27, 28, 39, 40, 43)
• NSLSC, Privacy and Security (opens in a new tab)
• Alberta Student Aid (opens in a new tab) and Government of the Northwest Territories, Student Financial Assistance (opens in a new tab)