The End of Need‐Based Student Financial Aid in Canada? ppt

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudent
FinancialAidinCanada?
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Preparedfor:
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CanadianAssociationofStudentFinancial AidAdministrators(CASFAA)
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By
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SeanJunorandAlexUsher

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August2007
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TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 2
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About CASFAA
The Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA) is a national
professional association that represents financial aid administrators at Canada's universities, 
colleges and technical institutes. As a professional association, CASFAA serves as a liaison
betweenourmembersandthefederalgovernment,serviceproviders,financialinstitutionsand
various other stakeholders in
 student financial aid; advocates on behalf of members by
providinginputonstudentfinancialassistance programsandpolicies;andprovidesprofessional
developmentopportunitiesformembers,includingourannualconference.
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About the Educational Policy Institute
TheEducationalPolicy Institute isanon‐profitresearchcenter focusedinissues of educational
opportunity, especially for our most needy populations.  Based in VirginiaBeach with offices in
Toronto and Melbourne, EPI conducts program evaluation, policy analysis, and conducts
professionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforeducationalprofessionalsthroughouttheeducation
continuum.VisittheEPIwebsite
atwww.educationalpolicy.org.

About the Authors
SEANJUNORistheManagerofKnowledgeMobilizationattheEducationalPolicyInstitute.Prior
tojoiningtheInstitute,hewastheSeniorPolicyandResearchOfficerfortheCanadaMillennium
Scholarship Foundation. He is a  native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and a graduate of the
UniversityofSaskatchewan.(sjunor@educational policy.org
)

ALEX USHER is the Vice‐President of the Educational Policy Institute. Prior to joining the
Institute,hewastheDirectorofResearchandProgramDevelopmentfortheCanadaMillennium
Scholarship Foundation, where he was in charge of Canada’s largest‐ever research project on
access to post‐secondary education. He is
 a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and graduate of
McGillUniversityandCarletonUniversity.(
)
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SuggestedCitation:
Junor, Sean, & Usher, Alex (2007). The End of Need‐Based Student Financial Aid in Canada?
Toronto,ON:EducationalPolicyInstitu te.

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 3
Table of Contents

AboutCASFAA 2
AbouttheEducationalPolicyInstitute 2
AbouttheAuthors 2
TableofContents 3
DataLimitationsandObservations 4
Chapter1: Introduction 5
Chapter2: StudentAidinCanada1993‐1994to2003‐2004 7
2.1 Introduction 7
2.2
Alberta 8
2.3 BritishColumbia 10
2.4 Manitoba 13
2.5 NewBrunswick 15
2.6 NewfoundlandandLabrador 18

2.7 NovaScotia 20
2.8 Ontario 22
2.9 PrinceEdwardIsland 25
2.10 Québec 27
2.11 Saskatchewan 30
Chapter3: StudentAid
PolicyandProgramChangesSince2004 34
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 GovernmentofCanadaandCanadaMillenniumSchol arship Foundation 34
3.3 Alberta 37
3.4 BritishColumbia 38
3.5 Manitoba 40
3.6 NewBrunswick 41
3.7 NewfoundlandandLabrador 41
3.8 NovaScotia
42
3.9 Ontario 43
3.10 PrinceEdwardIsland 45
3.11 Québec 45
3.12 Saskatchewan 46
Chapter4 SummaryandConclusions 47
Bibliography 51
AppendixA:TargetedNeed‐BasedStudentAssistance 52
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 4

Data Limitations and Observations

In order to keep monetary comparisons constant over time, this paper converts all figures in
Chapter2intoJune2005realdollars.

Ineachprovincialsummary,webeginbydisplayingachartshowingchange sinstudentaidover
time.These data show monies extended to students and do not represent
government
expenditures.Whilegovernmentexpendituresandstudenttake‐upisidenticalasfarasgrants,
scholarships,andtaxcreditsareconcerned,theyare notthesamewhenitcomestoloans(the
author’sestimatethecostofadollarofloanstobeabout33cents).
Any interested parties who wish
 to investigate or use data behind the tables and figures are
encouragedtocontacttheEducationalPolicyInstitute.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 5
Chapter 1: Introduction
TherewasamajorchangeinCanadianstudentaidinthelate1990s,duelargelytoapackageof
measures adopted by the GovernmentCanada as partof its “Canada Opportunities Strategy”.
At the time, what aroused the most  comment was the creation in 1998 of the $2.5 billion
Canada Millennium
 Scholarship Foundation (Foundation). But while the Foundation was
certainly a welcome – if controversial‐addition to the country’s stock of need‐based aid, its
creationdidnotheraldthestartofanewfocusonneed‐basedaid.Quitethecontrary,infact:
thecreationoftheFoundationwasactually
thelastmajorinvestmentinnee d‐basedaidmade
byanyCanadiangovernmentfornearlysevenyears.
Inretrospect,themostsignificant measureofthelate1990swascontainednottheflashy1998
federal budget, but rather in the almost unheralded budget of 1996. In that budget, the
monthlyeducationtax
creditamountforfull‐timestudentswasincreasedfrom$60permonth
to $80per month.Though it hardly set the world on fire, this measure fundamentally altered
the nature of student aid in Canada. The next year the monthly amount  was increased – in
stages – from $80 per
month to$200 per month and part‐time students becameeligible  for a

$60 per month credit. These amounts were later doubled in the federal Liberals’ pre‐election
mini‐budget of October  2000, and th en hiked again in 2006 when the new Conservative
governmentcreateda$60permonthtaxcredit
for“textbooks”(morewillbediscussedonthis
inChapter3)whichwasanadditiontotheexistingmonthlyamountinallbutname.Ancillary
fees were added to the tuition fee tax credit.  Student loan interest became subject to a tax
creditaswell.
Provinces not to be outdone
got into the tax credit act, too. Most matched the increases in
federal tax credits – some (notably Alberta) increased them way beyond anything the federal
government did. Some have‐not provinces even began trying to use education tax credits as a
waytostemthelossoftheiryouthpopulation.

Whatallofthissignaledwasadecreaseddesireonthepartofgovernmentstouseneed‐based
studentassistancetodistributeaidtothosewhoneeditthemost.Instead,governmentsbegan
finding non‐need‐based methods of providing supports: tax credits, tuition freezes – anything
which did not
use need as a criterion‐became the preferred method of distributing money.
Indeed,governmentswentsofarastobeginactivelyseekingtodistributemoneytopeoplewho
‐sofarfrombeingneedy‐wereactuallywellenoughofftosavesubstantialsumsofmoneyfor
theirchildren’s’education.TheCanada
EducationSavingsGrant(CESG),begunin1998,almost
immediatelybecamea$400‐millionperyearprogram.Recently,provinceshavebeguncopying
this, too – most notably, Québec, which has begun matching federal contributions to the
programona1:2basis.
The metamorphosis from a need‐based system of aid to a
 predominantly non‐need‐based
systemofaidinCanadadidnothappeninstantly.Ithasbeentheslow,inexorableresultof an
accretion of government decisions at both the federal and provincial levels. Ideology has not
played a part – governments of both the left and right alike have plunged

with abandon into
non‐need‐basedprojects.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 6
Thepurposeofthis report istoshedlightonthe howthissituationevolved, on a province‐by‐
provincebasis
1
.In Chapter 2,the papertakes datafrom 1993‐94 to 2003‐04 (the last yearfor
which good data is available) to show how the mix of available aid changed in each province
over that decade, and how these changes helped to offset the rises in tuition which occurred

overthattime.Thoughtherearesomebroadthemeswhichemergefromthisexamination,the
situation was not the same in all provinces and the individual sections of this chapter should
helpthereaderunderstandthenuancesinsituationsacrossthecountry.
Although gooddata on student assistance is not
available past 2004, it ispossible to track the
broad outline of changes in student aid just by examining various budget documents and
trackinggovernmentannouncementsdealingwithstudentfinancialassistance.Thispaper does
this in Chapter 3. In the final chapter, the paper examines the cumulative effect of these
changes
 on student assistance and outlines who has benefited the most from the recent
changes.



1
 The authors have not intentional excluded Canada’s three territories from the analysis in the paper,
however, the availability of comparable and quality data does not allow for a full comparison using
territorialdata.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?

EducationalPolicyInstitute 7
Chapter 2: Student Aid in Canada 1993-1994 to 2003-
2004
2.1 Introduction
Chapter 2 de als with changes in the overall amounts of student aid being provided by federal
andprovincialgovernmen tsinbetweentheyears1993‐94and2003‐04,thelastyearforwhich
complete and accurate data is available. It shows the amount of federal and provincial aid
providedbyeach
provinceineachoftheseyears.Italsodescribestheeffectsofthesechanges
on various measures of affordability. Overall, what the chapter shows is that there were very
significant increases in student aid over this decade which, although they did not completely
offset the increases in tuition which occurred
over the course of the 1990s, did go some
considerabledistancetomitigatingit.
The data in this chapter are largely based on two EPI publications; The State of Student Aid in
Canada(2007,forthcoming)andBeyondtheStickerPrice(2006).Dataonfederalandprovincial
expenditureswasdirectlycollectedin
twosurveys–oneconductedin2003and2004aspartof
thePrice ofKnowledge 2004 project andanotherin early2005 aspart ofThe State of Student
Aid. Data shown in the various figures has been expressed in real 2005 dollars in order to
accountforinflation.
Inallfigures,theportionindicatedas“netloans”referstotheamountof
loans issued minus the amount of remission paid out (to avoid double counting) in any given
year.Thisshouldnotbetakenasreflectiveofactualgovernmentexpendituresonloans;though
the figure varies somewhat over
time and across provinces, as a rule of thumb, a dollar in
student loans costs a government roughly 33 cents in interest carrying charges, defaults, and
interestreliefcosts.
Thedataonindividualaffordabilityispresentedasfollows:Foreachprovinceineachyear,data
ispresentedonthefollowingfour

concepts:
Average Tuition
2
 and fees: Average tuition for undergraduate
3
 students plus average ancillar y
feesasreportedbyStatisticsCanada
Tax Credits: Tax credits available to students studying full‐time for eight months paying the
averagetuitionandfeeslistedabove.
Everybody’sNetTuition(ENT).Averagetuitionandfeesminustaxcredits:ineffect,thetuition
chargeminusthe
non‐repayabletaxcreditswhicheveryonereceives.

2
StatisticsCanadadoesnotproducetuitionandfeedatanordoestheagencydisaggregatebypolytechnic
oruniversity‐college.
3
Undergraduate tuitionfee numbersare weightedaveragescalculated using themost current
enrolment data available and the following faculties are included: Agriculture, Architecture,
Arts, Commerce, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Household Science, Law, Medicine, Music,
andScience.

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 8
AverageGrants:Theaveragesizeofgrantinaparticularjurisdictioninaparticularyear.
Grant Recipients’ Net Tuition (GRNT): NET minus average grants. In effect, the “net” tuition
paidbythosepeoplewhoreceivegrants.

2.2 Alberta
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004

Total student assistance available to students in Alberta rose by close to 80 percent over the
decadeto2003‐04;substantiallymorethanthenationalaverageof50percent.Atthestartof
thedecade,annualexpenditureswerejustover$400million peryear;by2003
‐04,expenditures
wereroughly$725million.Over halfofthisincreasewasduetoanincreaseintaxexpenditures;
mostoftheremainderisduetoanincreaseingrantsandloanremission.Together,thismeans
alloftheincreaseinassistancehasbeenduetoanincreaseinnon‐
repayableassistance;indeed,
netloansnowonlycoveraboutone‐thirdoftotalassistanceinAlberta.
In part, this increase was due to an increase in the number of post‐secondary students in the
province: college and uni versity enrolments rose by 20 to 25 percent during the decade in
question. Still,
 real aid available to student grew substantially over the decade.Total aid
availabletostudentsisshownbelowinFigure1.
Figure1–TotalAssistancebyType–Alberta($2005)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96

1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions
Tax Expenditures CESG Mer it Net Loans Remission Grants

Asintherestofthecountry,thedecadeendedwithproportionatelylessassistancebeinggiven
outbytheprovincialgovernmentthanatthestart.Althoughprovincialaidincreasedbyroughly 
$50 million, federal aid more than doubled, from $214 million to  $478 million.As a result,
nearlytwo‐thirds
ofallstudentaiddollarsinAlberta(need‐basedanduniversalcombined)now
comefromtheGovernmentofCanada.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 9
Figure2–TotalAssistancebySource–Alberta($2005)
0
100

200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions

Government of Alberta MSF Government of Canada

AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninAlbertaoverTime
To date, the paper has been examining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper will
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.ThisisdonebelowinTable
1.
Table1–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,Alberta1995‐96to2005‐06(real$2005
dollars)

Tuitionand
Fees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,819 $1,103 $2,716 $3,397‐$681
1996‐97 $4,072 $1,166 $2,907 $3,388‐$481
1997‐98 $4,345 $1,233 $3,112 $3,163‐$51
1998‐99 $4,666 $1,338 $3,328 $3,479‐$152
1999‐00 $4,804 $1,470 $3,334 $2,888 $447
2000‐01 $4,875 $1,843 $3,031 $2,652 $379
2001‐02 $4,874 $1,843 $3,031 $2,424 $607
2002‐03 $4,963 $2,134 $2,829 $2,874‐$44
2003‐04 $5,234 $2,208 $3,026 $2,733 $293
2004‐05 $5,606 $2,326 $3,281 
2005‐06 $5,638 $2,334 $3,304 

Tuitionandfeesrosesteadilyformuchofthe decadeinquestion.Overall,tuitionfeesroseby
justover$1,800.However,federalandprovincialtaxcreditsoffsetmorethanhalfthisgrowth.
Once the effects of tax credits are taken into account, the net tuition paid by  Alberta student
only

increasedby$600,orabout22percent.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 10
The average grant size decreased by about $600 in the period, meaning that Grant recipients’
net tuition (GRNT) rose substantially after 1998‐99.However, because of data collection
limitations,GRNTis basedontheaveragegrantsize,
nottheaverageamount ofgrantreceived
(individuals can receive more than one grant).Since the number of grants increased
substantially over the years in question (from 13,807 in 1998‐99 to 34,954 in 1999‐2000 and
54,564in2003‐04),itseemslikelythat notonlyarea larger
peoplearereceivinggrants,butthat
more people are receiving multiple grants as well, meaning that “true” GRNT is probably
decreasing,notincreasing.
In other words, combined federal and provincial expenditures have kept rises in net tuition to
about 20 percent which – given the increases in family income in Alberta
 over these years –
means they have stayed roughly constant  in terms of affordability.The picture for grant
recipients’ net tuition is a  little less clear, but given the sharp increasein the number of grant
recipients,itseemslikelythatoverall,the affordability  picturehasimprovedsubstantiallyfora
largenumberofstudentsintheprovince.
2.3 British Columbia
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
TotalstudentassistanceexpendituresinBritishColumbiamorethandoubledoverthedecadeto
2003‐04;substantiallymorethanthenationalaverageof50percent.Atthestartofthedecade,
annual expenditures were $430 million per year; by 2003‐04, expenditures were roughly $900
million
 per year.Over half of this increasewas due to anincrease in need‐based loans, and a
substantial portion of the remainder came from need‐based grants.In significant contrast to
mostotherprovinces,lessthan20percentoftheincreaseinassistanceinBritishColumbiacame
fromtax

creditsandonlyaboutathirdcamefromuniversalsourcesofincome.
Much of the increase in student aid in British Columbia can be attributed to the province’s
spectacular growth in post‐secondary education participation (albeit from a very low base)
duringthe decade in question.However,evenwithstudent numbers
increasingby roughly 50 
percent, the growth in student aid dollars was such that per‐student aid still increased
substantially.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 11
Figure4–TotalAssistancebyType–BritishColumbia($2005)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-

98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Mer it Loans Remission Grants

As in most other provinces, the distribution of student assistance by source changes
substantially during this decade.At the outset of the decade, roughly 45 percent of all aid in
British Columbia came from the provincial government; by 2003‐04, this proportion had fallen
to less than 32 percent, thanks
to a 140 percent rise in federal loans, grants and tax credits
combined.Thisisnottosay provincialassistancedeclined;indeed,inabsoluteterms,provincial
assistanceincreasedsubstantiallyfrom$190millionperyearto$288millionperyear.Butthe
hugeincreaseinfederalaidsimplyoutstrippedthegrowthin
provincialaid.

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 12
Figure4–TotalAssistancebySource–BritishColumbia($2005)
0

100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03

2003-
04
$ Millions
Government of British Columbia MSF Government of Canada

AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninBritishColumbiaoverTime
To date, this paper has been e xamining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper needs to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdonebelow
inTable2.
Table2–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,BritishColumbia,1995‐96to2005‐06

Tuition
andFees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,433 $1,053 $2,381 $3,286‐$905
1996‐97 $3,419 $1,049 $2,370 $3,797‐$1,427
1997‐98 $3,312 $1,014 $2,297 $3,626‐$1,329
1998‐99 $3,273 $1,042 $2,231 $3,246‐$1,015
1999‐00 $3,242 $1,129 $2,113 $3,086‐$973
2000‐01 $3,315 $1,081 $2,234 $3,317‐$1,083
2001‐02 $3,136 $1,051 $2,085 $3,399‐$1,314
2002‐03 $3,870 $1,429 $2,442 $2,890‐$448
2003‐04 $4,909 $1,584 $3,325 $2,807 $519
2004‐05 $5,458 $1,716 $3,742 
2005‐06 $5,349 $1,762 $3,587 

Due to the provincial tuition freeze in the period 1996‐2002, tuition, net tuition and GRNT
remained more or less constant over those years.However, as noted earlier, GRNT only tells

part of the story; equally important was the fact that the number of grants more than tripled
overthe
sameperiod,increasingfrom14,878in95‐96to54,919in2001‐02.Asaresult,inthe
period up to 2002, the situation remained constant for both non‐grant recipients and grant 
recipients,buttheoverallaffordabilitypositionimprovedasmorestudentsreceivedgrants.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 13
Thissituationchangedwhentheprovincialgovernmentdecidedtoliftthetuitionfeefreeze and
allowfeestorisebyroughly60percent,from$3,136in2001‐02to$5,458in2004‐05.Although
taxcreditsau tomatically
rosetopartiallyoffsettheincrease,ENTstillrosebyover80percentin
thethree yearsafter the tuition fee increase.As for grantrecipients, their numbers remained
constantbuttheaveragesizeoftheirgrantactuallydeclined.Asaresult,theywentfrompaying
substantiallynegativetuitionto
payingabout$500innettuition.
In sum, after enjoying a very good last  half of the 1990s in which net costs  actually declined,
BritishColumbiastudents’financialpositiondeterioratedrapidly inthefirsthal f ofthisdecade.

2.4 Manitoba
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
Total student assistance expenditures in Mani toba rose by about 80 percent.This is
substantially more than the national average of 50 percent, but less than that in some of the
otherwesternprovinces.Atthestartofthedecade,annualexpenditureswere$92millionper
year;
by 2003‐04, expenditureswere roughly$166 millionperyear.Noneof this increasewas
dueto arise innetloans –indeed, these declinedover thedecade.Mostof theincreasewas
due to an expansion in tax credits but a not insubstantial portio n  of the rise was
due to the
introduction of remission programs the province and the Canada Millennium Scholarship
Foundation.

Some of this rise in total assistance was due to changes in post‐secondary education studen t
numbers, which rose by roughly 25 percent in the years after 1999; however, the growth in
student aid still outstripped
 the growth in student numbers substantially, implying that per‐
studentaidrosesubstantially.
Figure5–TotalAssistancebyType–Manitoba($2005)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00

2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Mer it Net Loans Remission Grants MSRFA P

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 14
As in most other provinces, the distribution of student assistance  by source changed
substantially during this decade.At the outset of the decade, roughly 25 percent of all aid in
Manitoba came from the provincial government; by
 1996‐1997 this had risen to over  40
percent.However,startingin1998‐99(thatis,aftertheCanadaOpportunitiesBudgetof1998),
theproportioncoming fromtheprovincial governmentbeganto fallquitesignificantly, so that
by2001‐02,thisproportionhadfallenbackto22percentwhereit
remainstoday.Thischange
inproportionwasnot–asitwasinsomeprovinces‐simplyamatterofthegrowthinfederalaid
outstripping growth in provincial aid.In Manitoba,  provincial aid actually declined, although a
muchlargerproportionwasnowgivenoutingrantratherthanloan.
Figure
6–TotalAssistancebySource–Manitoba($2005)
0
20
40
60

80
100
120
140
160
180
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions
Government of Manitoba MSF Government of Canada


AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninManitobaoverTime
To date, this paper has been e xamining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, this paper needs to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdonebelowin
Table3.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 15
Table 3 – Changes in Tuition, Subsidies and Net Costs, Manitoba, 1995‐96 to 2005‐06 ($2005
realdollars)

Tuition
andFees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,479 $1,064 $2,414 $2,956‐$541
1996‐97 $3,665 $1,112 $2,552 $2,991‐$438
1997‐98 $3,903 $1,174 $2,729 $4,145‐$1,416
1998‐99 $4,133 $1,266 $2,867 $2,372 $495
1999‐00 $4,510 $1,456 $3,054 $2,967 $87
2000‐01 $4,003 $1,682 $2,322 $3,126‐$804
2001‐02 $3,965 $1,671 $2,293 $3,146‐$853
2002‐03 $3,918 $1,915 $2,004 $3,217‐$1,214
2003‐04 $3,874 $1,903 $1,971 $2,710‐$738
2004‐05 $3,982 $1,932 $2,050 
2005‐06 $4,031 $1,945 $2,086 

Intheperiodpriortothe1999tuitionfreeze,nettuitionincreaseforgrantrecipientsandnon‐
grant recipients alike grew by about $600.Subsequently, the 10 percent roll‐back and
subsequent freeze, combined with generous increases in governmental education tax credits,

sawasubstantialoveralldeclineinrealcosts.
Indeed,ENTdeclinedbyalmost$1,000(nearly33
percent)between1999‐2000.Thus,studentsin2005‐06paidlessinrealdollarsthantheydida
decadeearlier,andsubstantiallylessth antheydidin1999‐00.

2.5 New Brunswick
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
TotalstudentassistanceexpendituresinNewBrunswickincreasedby84percentinthedecade
to2003‐04,substantiallymorethanthenationalaverageincreaseof50percent.Atthestartof
the decade, annual expenditures were $115 million per year; by 2003‐04, expenditures were
roughly
 $219 million per year.Roughly half of this increase was  due to an increase in need‐
based loans; most of the remainder was due to an increasein universal assistance, mainly tax
benefits.
Very little of this increase can be attributed to growing post‐secondary education student
numbers.Thetotal
increaseincollegeanduniversitystudentsoverthedecadeinquestionwas
betweentenand15percent;asaresult,per‐studentfundingincreasedbywellover50percent.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 16
Figure7–TotalAssistancebyType–NewBrunswick($2005)
-
50
100
150
200
250
1993-
94
1994-

95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Net Loans Remission Grants Merit

The distribution of student assistance by source fluctuated somewhat over the course of the
decade.For the most part, the federal share of total aid stayed between 60 and 70 percent;
however, in three anomalous years (1994‐95, 1995‐96 and 1998‐99), this share fell below 60
percent.This
isnottosaythatprovincialassistancefell;indeed,inabsolute terms,itincreased
bynearly75percent,fro m$40millionto$69million.However,thiswasonlybarelyenoughto
keepupwiththerapidincreaseinfederalaidwhichwasoccurringthroughoutthedecade.
Figure8–TotalAssistance

bySource–NewBrunswick($2005)
-
50
100
150
200
250
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03
2003-
04
Government of New Brunswick MSF Government of Canada


TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 17
AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninNewBrunswickoverTime
To date, the paper has been examining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper needs
 to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdonebelowintable4.
Table4–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,NewBrunswick,1995‐96to2005‐06

Tuition
andFees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,369 $1,118 $2,251 $734 $1,517
1996‐97 $3,652 $1,197 $2,455 $904 $1,551
1997‐98 $3,833 $1,239 $2,593 $882 $1,711
1998‐99 $4,046 $1,326 $2,719 $958 $1,761
1999‐00 $4,092 $1,439 $2,653 $1,267 $1,386
2000‐01 $4,231 $1,652 $2,579 $1,823 $755
2001‐02 $4,442 $1,706 $2,735 $1,655 $1,080
2002‐03 $4,735 $2,038 $2,697 $1,631 $1,067
2003‐04 $4,935 $2,089 $2,846 $2,108 $738
2004‐05 $5,124 $2,138 $2,986 
2005‐06 $5,323 $2,189 $3,134 

New Brunswick is one of the very few provinces that did not implement some kin d  of tuition
freeze over the past decade.As a result, tuition rose by $2,000 (or about 58 percent) in the
decadeto2005‐06.Thegrowthintaxcreditspartiallyoffsetthisincrease,asthe
valueofthese

credits increased by about $1,070 per student over the decade.As a result, ENT grew more
slowly,byonlyabout$900.
Students who received grants, however, were in a  different situation.The average grant size
rose dramatically over the decade, notably when the Canada Mille nnium  Scholarship
Foundation bursaries
 were introduced in 1999‐2000 and when the province increased its own
bursaryprogramin2003.Thegrowthingrantsmorethanoffsetanygrowthinnettuition–asa
result, students whorece ive  grants in New Brunswick now pay substantially less than they did 
tenyearsago.Moreover,
therearesubstantiallymoregrantrecipientsnowthantherewerea
decade ago.This means that affordability in the province has improved significantly among
high‐needstudentsoverthecourseofthedecade.


TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 18
2.6 Newfoundland and Labrador
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
Total student assistance expenditures in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2003‐4 were $154
million,some60percentmorethantheyhadbeenadecadeearlier.Thisisroughlysimilartothe
national average of a 50 percent increase over the course of the decade. Yet assistance
 had
been much higher five years earlier in 1998‐99, total student aid spending had been $217
million,ormorethanoftheotherwesternprovinces.Nearlyalloftheincreaseinassistance‐up
to 1997‐98‐came in the form of loans.After that, loans declined  precipitously, but this
was
partiallyoffsetbyasignificantriseintuitiontaxcredits.
This growth in student aid has occurred in a context where post‐secondary education student
numbers were falling more or less in line with the decline in the provincial youth population
throughout the late 1990s.Enrolments then bounced back again

 around the turn of the
millenniumandasaresult,thetotalenrolmentincreaseoverthedecadewasabouttenpercent.
Thisimpliesthatper‐studentaidwasuproughly40percentoverthecourseofthedecade.
Figure9–TotalAssistancebyType–Newfoundland&Labrador($2005)
0
50
100
150
200
250
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
CESG Tax Mer it Net Loans Remission Grants

At the start of the decade in question, roughly 30 percent of all student assistance in
Newfoundland and Labrador came from the provincial government.This rose to roughly 40
percent by 1998‐99.Then, as federal governmen t expen ditures increased following the 1 998
budgetandprovincialloanpaymentsdeclinedasprivate
vocationalcollegeswereremovedfrom
thestudent aidrolls,the province’sshare oftotal assistancehas sincedeclinedagain to about
30percent.

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 19
Figure10–TotalAssistancebySource–Newfoundland&Labrador($2005)
-
50
100
150
200

250
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
Government of New foundland MSF Government of Canada

AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninNewfoundlandandLabradoroverTime
To date, this paper has been e xamining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper needs to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdone
belowinTable5.
Table5–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,NewfoundlandandLabrador,1995‐96to
2005‐06

Tuition
andFees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,101 $1,075 $2,026 $1,410 $616
1996‐97 $3,530 $1,244 $2,286 $2,918‐$632
1997‐98 $4,085 $1,518 $2,567 $2,531 $36
1998‐99 $4,215 $1,671 $2,544 $2,032 $513
1999‐00 $4,324 $1,702 $2,622 $2,372 $249
2000‐01 $4,623 $1,910 $2,714 $2,827‐$114
2001‐02 $4,134 $1,780 $2,355 $2,891‐$536
2002‐03 $3,413 $1,588 $1,825 $3,027‐$1,202
2003‐04 $3,216 $1,536 $1,680 $2,571‐$891
2004‐05 $3,164 $1,522 $1,642 
2005‐06 $3,070 $1,497 $1,573 

TuitionandfeesroseinNewfoundlandandLabradoroverthelatterhalfofthe1990s.However,

theprovincialgovernment’sdecisiontorollbacktuitionandthenfreezeitreducedcostsinreal
dollarsbyathirdfrom2000‐01to2005‐6(andbeyond).Thevalueoftaxcreditsfell
duringthis
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 20
period(anaturalresultofthetuitionreductionsincecreditsarebasedinpartonpaidfees),but
ENTstillfellby$1,200,orjustover40percent.FluctuationsinaveragegrantsmeantthatGRNT
felltoo.
Allstudentsthereforebenefitedfrommoreaffordableeducationcosts.

2.7 Nova Scotia
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
Overthedecadefrom1993‐94to2003‐04,assistancetoNovaScotiastudentsrosebyjustover
50percent‐thatis,roughlyequaltothenationalaverage–from$143millionperyearto$ 233
million per year.The rise was caused by a number
 of things – growth in net loans, growth in
remissionprograms,growthintaxcredits,growthinCESGsandgrowthingrants.Indeed,Nova
Scotia is unusual in having growth across all financial instruments.Proportionately, though,it
wastaxcreditsthatrosethefastestofallinstrumentsandaccountedfor
approximatelyhalfthe
riseintotalassistance.
Notallofthisgrowthtranslatedintoincreasedamountsofdollarsperstudent.Overallcollege
and university enrolment in Nova Scotia rose by 20 percent, meaning that per‐student aid
actuallyonlyincreasedbyabout25percent.
Figure11–TotalAssistancebyType
–NovaScotia($2005)
0
50
100
150

200
250
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Mer it Net Loans Remission Grants

Interms of thesource of assistance,  atthestart ofthedecade in question,thegovernment of
NovaScotiawasresponsibleforover45percentoftotalassistancedistributedintheprovince.
This proportion remained more or less constant until 1998, when two things happened.First,
federalexpendituresbegan
toriseasaresultofthe1998budget,andsecond,halftheprovincial
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 21
student loan client base suddenly disappeared
4
.The provincial share of total assistance then
droppedprecipitouslytoabout25percent,whereitremainstoday.
Figure12–TotalAssistancebySource–NovaScotia($2005)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
Government of Nova Scotia MSF Government of Canada

AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninNovaScotiaoverTime

To date, this paper has been e xamining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper needs to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdonebelow
intable6.


4
Between1997/98and1998/99,theGovernmentofNovaScotiamanagedtoreduceitsownstudentloan
rolls by nearly 50 percent in a single year. Clearly, this reduction had nothing to do with a general
reduction in the need for loans – indeed, the Canada Student Loans clientele remained effectively
unchangedduringthisperiod.Ineffect,thegovernmentofNovaScotiatweakeditsowneligibilitycriteria
inordertoreduceitsexposuretostudentloansatatimewhentheprogramwasfacedwithsomeserious
financialpressure.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 22
Table6–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,NovaScotia,1995‐96to2005‐06

Tuition
andFees
Tax
credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $4,279 $1,334 $2,945 $643 $2,303
1996‐97 $4,633 $1,430 $3,203 $1,612 $1,591
1997‐98 $4,949 $1,506 $3,443 $3,078 $365
1998‐99 $5,133 $1,589 $3,545 $4,447‐$903
1999‐00 $5,282 $1,736 $3,547 $2,324 $1,223
2000‐01 $5,584 $1,851 $3,732 $2,422 $1,310
2001‐02 $5,824 $1,913 $3,911 $2,397 $1,514
2002‐03 $6,084 $2,236 $3,848 $2,795 $1,052
2003‐04 $6,357 $2,307 $4,051 $3,622 $429

2004‐05 $6,777 $2,415 $4,363 
2005‐06 $6,820 $2,426 $4,394 

NovaScotiastudentspaythehighestuniversitytuitionfeesinthecountry;inconsequence,they
also receive the largest amounts of tax credi ts on the country.The rise in tax credits has
partially,butbynomeansfully,offsettheincreaseintuition:ENTroseby$1,450(ornearly50
percent) over the decade.For grant recipients, however, it is a different story.The average
grantsizefluctuatedconsiderablyoverthedecade,butingeneralgrantsincreasedsubstantially
meaningstudentswhoreceivedgrantswere,inthemain,muchbetteroffin2003‐04thanthey
were in 1995‐96.As the
 number of grants  did not decrease (they actually increased slightly,
althoughthesourceswitchedfrom primarilyprovincialtoprimarilyMillenniumBursaries),what
this means is that – in contrast to the average non‐grant‐recipient‐the average position of
grantrecipientsimprovedsubstantially.

2.8 Ontario
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
TotalstudentassistanceexpendituresinOntarioincreasedby39percentbetween1993‐94and
2003‐04, somewhat less that the national average increase of 50 percent.At the start of the
decade of analysis, annual expenditures were $1.7 billion per year; by 2003‐04, expenditures
were
roughly$2.45billionperyear.Justover100percentoftheincreasecamefromuniversal
assistance sources (need‐based sources actually decreased over the decade), and roughly 70
percent of the increase in universal assistance came through tax‐based sources.Figur e  13
showstotalassistanceavailabletoOntariostudents.
Ontario’s
below‐average performance is even more pronounced when changes in post‐
secondaryeducationstudentpopulationaretakenintoaccount.Evenbeforethedoublecohort,
enrolmentwas up15 percent‐withthe double cohort, the increase was closer to 30percent,
meaningthatper‐studentassistancelevelsroseonlyminimally.

TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 23
Figure13–TotalAssistancebyType–Ontario($2005)
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
1993-
94
1994-
95
1995-
96
1996-
97
1997-
98
1998-
99
1999-
00
2000-
01
2001-
02
2002-
03

2003-
04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Merit Net Loans Remission Grants

Whenlookingat assistance bysource, weseea familiarpattern.At thestart ofthede cadein
question,theprovincialgovernmentwasresponsibleforsomethingverycloseto50percentof
allassistance.Thoughincreasingfederalaid(primarilyloanaid)dilutedthissomewhatoverthe
nextfive years,the
provincialsources ofassistance continuedtorise inabsolute terms.Then,
after1998,thingschangedconsiderably.Federalsourcesofassistancebegantoriserapidly(as
aresultofthe1998federalbudget)andprovincialsourcesbegantodecline(becauseofchanges
to its loan program).By 2000‐01, the provincial share
 of assistance had dropped to below 30
percent,whereitremains today.Provincialassistance fell inbothabsoluteandrelativeterms;
in2003‐04,Ontarioassistanceamountedto$671million,comparedto$849millionin1993‐94,
and$1,147millionin1997‐98.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?
EducationalPolicyInstitute 24
Figure14–TotalAssistancebySource–Ontario($2005)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
Government of Ontario MSF Government of Canada


AffordabilityOutcomes:NetTuitioninOntariooverTime
To date, this paper has been e xamining changes in government expenditure levels.But how
have these changes affected individual students?In order to answer this, the paper needs to
examinechangesintuitio n,taxcreditsandgrants.Thisisdonebelowin
Table7.
Table7–ChangesinTuition,SubsidiesandNetCosts,Ontario,1995‐96to2005‐06

Tuition
andFees
Tax
Credits ENT Grants GRNT
1995‐96 $3,684 $1,147 $2,537 $3,773‐$1,236
1996‐97 $4,151 $1,271 $2,881 $3,527‐$647
1997‐98 $4,466 $1,293 $3,172 $4,861‐$1,689
1998‐99 $4,873 $1,398 $3,475 $5,973‐$2,499
1999‐00 $5,386 $1,573 $3,813 $4,681‐$868
2000‐01 $5,384 $1,637 $3,747 $3,698 $49
2001‐02 $5,552 $1,681 $3,871 $2,283 $1,588
2002‐03 $5,602 $1,951 $3,651 $1,823 $1,828
2003‐04 $5,794 $1,999 $3,795 $2,599 $1,196
2004‐05 $5,690 $1,976 $3,714 
2005‐06 $5,586 $1,953 $3,633 

Tuitionfeesrosesubstantia llyinrealdollarsinthelate1990sbeforeslowingatthe turnofthe
decade and actually falling after 2003‐04 and the imposition of a two‐year tuition freeze.As
elsewhere,theincrease in tuitioncredits partiallyoffsetthe riseinfees, but ENTstill
increases
by$1,100,orabout43percentinrealterms.
TheEndofNeed‐BasedStudentFi nancialAidinCanada?

EducationalPolicyInstitute 25
Withrespecttonettuitionchargesforgrantrecipients,thepictureissomewhatmorenuanced.
Thevastreductionintheprovince’sloanremissionschemetowardstheendofthe1990smeant
thatgrantrecipientsonaveragereceived
substantiallylessthanthey previouslydid,andGRNT
rose.However, the number of grants issued rose substantially over the decade.What this
means is that people who would have received grants in 1995‐96 were noticeably worse off a
decadelater,butatthesametimetherewerealarge
numberofnewgrantrecipientswhowere
betteroff.

2.9 Prince Edward Island
StudentAssistanceExpendituresto2004
Overthedecadefrom1993‐94to2003‐04,assistancetoIslandstudentsnearlytripledfrom$15
million to $43 million annually. This is much higher than was the case nationally, where the
averageincreasewasonly50percent.Allformsofassistanceincreasedinvalue–thoughnearly
allthenetincreasecanbeattributedtotheincreasesinnetloans(189percent)andtaxcredits
(up 275 percent).This impressive rise in assistance was only slightly  offset by the 25 percent
increaseinenrolments
Figure15–TotalAssistancebyType–PEI($2005)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45

1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04
$ Millions
Tax CESG Merit Net Loans Remission Residency-Based Aw ards Grants

In terms of the source of assistance, at the start of the decade in question, the provincial
governmentwasresponsibleforonlyabout26percentoftotalassistanceprovidedtostudents.
That figure grew after the introduction of the Island Student Loan Program, but then declined 
again after the changes
resulting from the 1998 federal budget.Overall, the provincial
government accounts for 30 percent of all assistance delivered in the province, making it the