Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations: SOR/2025-271

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 27

Registration
SOR/2025-271 December 12, 2025

CANADA STUDENT LOANS ACT
CANADA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ACT

P.C. 2025-923 December 11, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations under section 17footnote a of the Canada Student Loans Act footnote b and subsection 15(1)footnote c of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act footnote d.

Regulations Amending the Canada Student Loans Regulations and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations

Canada Student Loans Act

Canada Student Loans Regulations

1 Subsection 2(1) of the Canada Student Loans Regulations footnote 1 is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

dental hygienist
means a person, other than a dental therapist, who is entitled to work as a dental hygienist under the laws of the province in which they are so working; (hygiéniste dentaire)
dentist
means a person who is entitled to work as a dentist under the laws of a province in which they are so working; (dentiste)
early childhood educator
means a person, other than an early childhood educator assistant or a teacher, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as an early childhood educator in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, meets the definition of an early childhood educator in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as an early childhood educator in any other province, is entitled to work as an early childhood educator under the laws of that province; (éducateur de la petite enfance)
midwife
means a person who is entitled to work as a midwife under the laws of a province in which they are so working; (sage-femme)
personal support worker
means a person who, in accordance with the laws of the province in which they work, provides one-on-one care and essential support to optimize and maintain an individual’s health, well-being, safety, autonomy and comfort consistent with that individual’s health care needs as directed by a regulated health care professional or a provincial or community health organization; (préposé aux services de soutien à la personne)
pharmacist
means a person who is entitled to work as a pharmacist under the laws of the province in which they are so working; (pharmacien)
physiotherapist
means a person who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a physiotherapist in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, meets the definition of a physiotherapist or physical therapist in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a physiotherapist in any other province, is entitled to work as a physiotherapist or physical therapist under the laws of that province; (physiothérapeute)
psychologist
means a person, other than a psychotherapist, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a psychologist in Yukon, meets the definition of a psychologist in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a psychologist in any other province, is entitled to work as a psychologist under the laws of that province; (psychologue)
social worker
means a person, other than a social service worker, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a social worker in Yukon or Nunavut, meets the definition of a social worker in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a social worker in any other province, is entitled to work as a social worker under the laws of that province; (travailleur social)
teacher
means a person who is entitled to teach at an elementary or secondary school under the laws of the province in which they are so teaching; (enseignant)

2 The heading “Loan Forgiveness for Family Physicians, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners” before section 17 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Loan Forgiveness — Under-Served Rural or Remote Communities

3 (1) Paragraphs 18(1)(a) to (e) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(2) Subsection 18(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) The maximum number of years in respect of which an amount may be forgiven in respect of a guaranteed student loan is five minus the number of years in respect of which an amount has been forgiven under subsection (1) in respect of a previous guaranteed student loan or under subsection 28(1) of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations.

4 (1) The portion of subsection 19(1) of the Regulations before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

19 (1) For the purposes of subsection 11.1(1) of the Act, to qualify for forgiveness for a year, the borrower must

(2) Section 19 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(4) The Minister may decide that a borrower who worked fewer than 400 hours but at least one hour during the year still qualifies for loan forgiveness for the year if the Minister is of the opinion that the borrower was unable to work because they

Canada Student Financial Assistance Act

Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations

5 Subsection 2(1) of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations footnote 2 is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

dental hygienist
means a person, other than a dental therapist, who is entitled to work as a dental hygienist under the laws of the province in which they are so working; (hygiéniste dentaire)
dentist
means a person who is entitled to work as a dentist under the laws of a province in which they are so working; (dentiste)
early childhood educator
means a person, other than an early childhood educator assistant or a teacher, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as an early childhood educator in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, meets the definition of an early childhood educator in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as an early childhood educator in any other province, is entitled to work as an early childhood educator under the laws of that province; (éducateur de la petite enfance)
midwife
means a person who is entitled to work as a midwife under the laws of a province in which they are so working; (sage-femme)
personal support worker
means a person who, in accordance with the laws of the province in which they work, provides one-on-one care and essential support to optimize and maintain an individual’s health, well-being, safety, autonomy and comfort consistent with that individual’s health care needs as directed by a regulated health care professional or a provincial or community health organization; (préposé aux services de soutien à la personne)
pharmacist
means a person who is entitled to work as a pharmacist under the laws of the province in which they are so working; (pharmacien)
physiotherapist
means a person who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a physiotherapist in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut, meets the definition of a physiotherapist or physical therapist in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a physiotherapist in any other province, is entitled to work as a physiotherapist or physical therapist under the laws of that province; (physiothérapeute)
psychologist
means a person, other than a psychotherapist, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a psychologist in Yukon, meets the definition of a psychologist in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a psychologist in any other province, is entitled to work as a psychologist under the laws of that province; (psychologue)
social worker
means a person, other than a social service worker, who
  • (a) in the case of a person who works as a social worker in Yukon or Nunavut, meets the definition of a social worker in the laws of any province; or
  • (b) in the case of a person who works as a social worker in any other province, is entitled to work as a social worker under the laws of that province; (travailleur social)
teacher
means a person who is entitled to teach at an elementary or secondary school under the laws of the province in which they are so teaching; (enseignant)

6 The heading of Part V.1 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Loan Forgiveness — Under-Served Rural or Remote Communities

7 (1) Paragraphs 28(1)(a) to (e) of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(2) Subsection 28(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(2) The maximum number of years in respect of which an amount may be forgiven in respect of a student loan is five minus the number of years in respect of which an amount has been forgiven under subsection (1) in respect of a previous student loan.

8 (1) The portion of subsection 29(1) of the Regulations before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:

29 (1) For the purposes of subsection 9.2(1) of the Act, to qualify for loan forgiveness for a year, the borrower must

(2) Section 29 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(4) The Minister may decide that a borrower who worked fewer than 400 hours but at least one hour during the year still qualifies for loan forgiveness for the year if the Minister is of the opinion that the borrower was unable to work because they

Coming into Force

9 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Executive summary

Issues: Canada is facing a long-standing and persistent crisis related to shortages of essential workers, especially in health care. To address this issue, the Canada Student Loan forgiveness benefit (the loan forgiveness benefit) was put in place by the Government of Canada in 2013. The goal of this benefit is to incentivize family physicians, including family medicine residents, nurses and nurse practitioners to work in eligible under-served rural or remote communities by forgiving part of their federal student loans. While the loan forgiveness benefit has helped many of these communities across Canada with the recruitment and retention of these essential workers, it does not address the lack of access to other important health care and social service professionals that these communities face.

Description: Amendments to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations and the Canada Student Loans Regulations will implement a Budget 2024 commitment to permanently expand the reach of the loan forgiveness benefit to early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, physiotherapists and psychologists who choose to work in an under-served rural or remote community. The loan forgiveness amounts and eligibility requirements for each newly eligible occupation will reflect time spent in post-secondary studies and the costs associated with these studies, similarly to how amounts were determined for family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners.

Rationale: Given the current shortage of health care and social service professionals across Canada and more severely in under-served rural or remote communities, the amendments will provide financial incentives for workers in these sectors to relocate to under-served rural or remote communities. This will help ensure that Canadians who live in these communities can access the health care and social services they need. It is expected that these amendments will alleviate the shortages of health care and social services in under-served rural and remote communities by incentivizing 27 822 health care and social service professionals over a 10-year period to relocate and provide services to under-served rural or remote communities.

The amendments will result in a net positive impact. The total monetized benefit is estimated at $944.1 million (present value) over 10 years, while costs are estimated at $653.8 million (present value) over the same period, for a total net positive impact of $290.3 million (present value).

Issues

Canada is facing a long-standing and persistent crisis related to shortages of essential workers, especially in health care. To address this issue, the Canada Student Loan forgiveness benefit (the loan forgiveness benefit) was put in place by the Government of Canada in 2013. The goal of this benefit is to incentivize family physicians, including family medicine residents, nurses and nurse practitioners to work in eligible under-served rural or remote communities by forgiving part of their federal student loans. While the loan forgiveness benefit has helped many of these communities across Canada with the recruitment and retention of these essential workers, it does not address the lack of access to other important health care and social service professionals in these communities.

Background

Canada Student Financial Assistance Program

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (the Program) provides eligible students with Canada Student Grants (grants), as well as Canada Student Loans (loans), to help them pay for post-secondary education at a designated college, university or other post-secondary institutions. Grants provide non-repayable funding to full- and part-time students from low- and middle-income families, to students with disabilities and to those with dependants. Loans are available to eligible students who still have a financial need after being allocated grants and who are enrolled in a degree, diploma, or certificate program at a designated post-secondary institution in Canada or abroad. Since April 1, 2021, interest has not been payable on loans, though borrowers remain liable to pay any interest that may have accrued prior to the elimination of interest accrual.

Grants and loans are available to students from nine participating provinces and one territory: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon. In these jurisdictions, students receive both federal and provincial/territorial student aid. Meanwhile, Quebec, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have opted out of the Program and received alternative payments from the Government of Canada to administer their own student financial assistance programs.

The Government of Canada currently offers loan forgiveness to family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners who work in an under-served rural or remote community. This measure was implemented in 2013 to complement existing federal and provincial/territorial efforts to address the complex issue of health care worker shortages in rural or remote communities. Occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit are listed in the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the Canada Student Loans Act. Amendments to expand the list of eligible occupations in both acts were included as part of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, which received royal assent on June 20, 2024. These legislative amendments will be brought into force by an Order in Council concurrently with the regulations.

The eligibility conditions for the loan forgiveness benefit are prescribed under section 29 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations footnote 3 and section 19 of the Canada Student Loans Regulations. footnote 4 To receive the loan forgiveness benefit, a borrower must have worked in an “under-served rural or remote community” as a family physician or nurse during the previous year and must have applied for the loan forgiveness benefit no later than 90 days after the end of that year. From April 1, 2013, to November 2, 2023, loan forgiveness for eligible family physicians could reach $8,000 per year, up to a maximum of $40,000 over five years. In addition, loan forgiveness for nurses and nurse practitioners could reach $4,000 per year, up to a maximum of $20,000 over five years.

Over the last few years, the Government of Canada has made commitments to enhance the loan forgiveness benefit. These enhancements were intended to address the shortage of family physicians and nurses in under-served rural and remote communities by bringing more health care workers to communities that needed them most. Firstly, as announced in Budget 2022 and implemented on November 3, 2023, the Government of Canada increased the maximum amount of loan forgiveness by 50%. This means that, over five years, the amount of loan forgiveness for family physicians working in under-served rural or remote communities can reach $60,000, and for nurses, $30,000. Secondly, as announced in Budget 2023, and implemented in November 2024, the Government of Canada expanded the reach of the loan forgiveness benefit. This means that starting in 2024–2025, all communities with a population of no more than 30 000 are eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit. Thirdly, as announced in Budget 2024, the Government of Canada committed to expanding the loan forgiveness benefit to 10 new occupations in health care and social services.

Objective

The objective of the regulatory amendments is to expand eligibility for the loan forgiveness benefit to 10 additional health care and social service occupations working in eligible under-served rural or remote communities. This is expected to incentivize workers in specified health care and social service occupations to relocate to and work in these communities, which, in turn, is expected to result in better access to health care and social services for residents.

Description

The regulatory amendments will expand the current list of occupations (family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners) eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit to the following 10 additional occupations: early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, physiotherapists and psychologists.

The current benefit scheme includes two groups based on loan forgiveness amounts (group 1 for family physicians and group 2 for nurses and nurse practitioners). The regulatory amendments will add new professions to the existing groups and create a third group to ensure that the appropriate amount of loan forgiveness is allotted to each new occupation and that it is aligned with the different education requirements, costs, and expected student debt. The three different groups of loan forgiveness are based on the most common post-secondary educational requirements for each occupation. However, the Program does not dictate educational requirements or pathways for any of the groups.

The first group includes borrowers working as a family physician, dentist, psychologist or pharmacist. Borrowers in this group typically attend post-secondary education for up to seven years or longer and will be eligible for up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness over a five-year period. The second group will include borrowers working as a nurse (registered nurse, registered/licensed practical nurse), nurse practitioner, midwife, teacher, social worker or physiotherapist who typically complete between four to six years of study at a university. Borrowers in this group will be eligible for up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness over a five-year period. The third group will include borrowers working as an early childhood educator, a dental hygienist or a personal support worker who typically attend post-secondary education for three years or less. Borrowers in this group will be eligible for up to $15,000 in loan forgiveness over a five-year period.

The table below shows the various eligible occupations, the three groups and the loan forgiveness amount for which each group will be eligible over a five-year period.

Table 1: Occupations by group and corresponding loan forgiveness amounts
  Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Eligible occupations Family physicians (including residents in family medicine), dentists, psychologists, pharmacists Nurses (including registered nurses and registered/licensed practical nurses), nurse practitioners, midwives, teachers, social workers, physiotherapists Early childhood educators, dental hygienists, personal support workers
Annual forgiveness amount
  • Year 1: $8,000
  • Year 2: $10,000
  • Year 3: $12,000
  • Year 4: $14,000
  • Year 5: $16,000
  • Year 1: $4,000
  • Year 2: $5,000
  • Year 3: $6,000
  • Year 4: $7,000
  • Year 5: $8,000
  • Year 1: $2,000
  • Year 2: $2,500
  • Year 3: $3,000
  • Year 4: $3,500
  • Year 5: $4,000
Maximum forgiveness over five years table 1 note a $60,000 $30,000 $15,000

Table 1 note(s)

Table 1 note a

Total if a borrower works all five years in the same group. Totals will vary if a borrower changes occupations, resulting in a change in groups over their five years of eligibility.

Return to table 1 note a referrer

For the purposes of eligibility, the newly added occupations will be defined in a manner that is consistent with how “family physician,” “nurse,” and “nurse practitioner” are currently defined in the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations and the Canada Student Loans Regulations.

Where provinces and territories define an occupation for the purpose of regulating its practice, the regulations will defer to those definitions. For example, the current definition of “nurse practitioner” in the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations includes those who are “entitled under the laws of a province to practise as a nurse practitioner and who is so practising.” However, not every newly eligible occupation is regulated and defined in every province or territory. Specifically, not every province or territory regulates and defines early childhood educators, social workers, physiotherapists, or psychologists. In these cases, the regulations will require the applicant to meet a legal definition in another province or territory. Personal support workers, however, are not defined in any jurisdiction. To address this, the regulations will introduce a definition, which includes the work undertaken by personal support workers in health care and home care settings.

Regulated occupations

All provinces and territories regulate dentists, dental hygienists, midwives, pharmacists and teachers. For these occupations, an eligible applicant will be defined as a person who is entitled to practise in that occupation under the laws of the province or territory in which they are working.

Early childhood educators, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers are regulated in most provinces and territories. An eligible applicant working in a province or territory where the occupation is regulated will be defined as a person who is entitled to practise in that occupation under the laws of the province or territory in which they are working.

Occupations that are unregulated in some provinces and territories

An eligible applicant working in one of the above occupations in a province or territory where the occupation is unregulated will be defined as a person who meets the definition of the occupation in the laws of any province or territory.

Unregulated occupations in all provinces and territories

Currently, no province or territory regulates personal support workers. Therefore, the regulations will include a definition for this occupation. An eligible applicant in this occupation will need to meet the following definition: “A person who, in accordance with the laws of the province or territory in which they work, provides one-on-one care and essential support to optimize and maintain an individual’s health, well-being, safety, autonomy and comfort consistent with that individual’s health care needs as directed by a regulated health care professional or a provincial/territorial or community health organization.”

Other changes

The regulations will introduce a requirement for applicants in all occupations, including those newly added, to provide at least 400 hours of in-person services in the previous year. If the applicant is prevented from completing the required hours due to medical or caregiving reasons, they may still be eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit. This requirement and the exemption criteria were previously outlined in the Program policy but will now be published in the regulations for additional clarity. Consistent with the current requirements for family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, once applicants have completed their period of employment in an under-served rural or remote community, they will have 90 days to apply for the loan forgiveness benefit.

The regulations will change the way of calculating the total number of years someone can receive the loan forgiveness benefit. Currently, each profession is capped at five years. This means a borrower can receive two years of loan forgiveness as a nurse, and then a further five years of loan forgiveness as a family physician. The regulations will cap loan forgiveness at five years total per borrower. This means, for example, that if a borrower has received the loan forgiveness benefit for two years while working as a personal support worker and is now working as a registered nurse, they will only be eligible for three additional years of the loan forgiveness benefit at the registered nurse level. In this case, the borrower will be eligible to receive the loan forgiveness benefit as a registered nurse beginning at the third-year amount ($6,000) and will not return to the year-one loan forgiveness amount to maintain a consistent, ongoing year counter for each borrower.

The definition of an eligible under-served rural or remote community for the loan forgiveness benefit was changed by regulations that came into force on November 6, 2024. An eligible community is now defined as a population centre with a population of no more than 30 000, or a rural area. This definition will apply to the newly added occupations. However, the definition change also included a provision to maintain the eligibility of certain legacy communities (i.e. communities that were eligible under the previous definition but not under the new definition) until approximately six months after the 2026 Census population is published — likely in 2027–2028. This provision is meant to ensure that these communities have time to adjust their recruitment strategies for family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners before losing eligibility for the loan forgiveness benefit. Therefore, legacy communities will not be considered eligible locations of work for the 10 newly added occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit under these regulations.

Applicants may, in accordance with Program policy, work in more than one under-served rural or remote community during their 12-month period of employment to obtain the required hours.

Regulatory development

Consultation

The Program regularly engages with stakeholders, including student associations, student financial aid administrators, and provincial/territorial representatives through the National Advisory Group on Student Financial Assistance (NAGSFA) and the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee on Student Financial Assistance (ICCSFA). In addition, for this measure, the Program also consulted

On May 17, 2022, the Program met with the National Association of Career Colleges, Colleges and Institutes Canada, and the Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, which are all NAGSFA members. These groups suggested that specific occupations, such as early childhood assistants, paramedics, and lab technicians, should be included in the expansion of the loan forgiveness benefit.

On May 18, 2022, the Program met with provincial/territorial members of the Policy Development Committee, which is an ICCSFA subcommittee serving as a forum for members to co-develop evidence-based policy advice on issues of shared interest, and for provinces and territories to review and provide input on federal student financial assistance policy proposals. During this meeting, Saskatchewan representatives requested that the Program consider veterinarians and veterinary technicians as potential eligible occupations should the loan forgiveness benefit extend beyond family physicians and nurses.

On May 31, 2022, the Program met with provincial/territorial health ministries through the federal-provincial/territorial Committee on Health Workforce, a standing committee that reports to the Conference of Deputy Ministers. It was established in 2002 by the federal-provincial/territorial Conference of Deputy Ministers of Health, and membership consists of federal and provincial co-chairs plus one senior-level delegate from each federal-provincial/territorial ministry of health.

During this meeting, representatives from British Columbia advocated for physiotherapists, medical lab technicians, social workers and occupational therapists to be added to the eligibility list for the loan forgiveness benefit, while Manitoba advocated the same for personal support workers and occupational therapists.

In fall 2022, an engagement package was shared with 102 stakeholder groups and partners. These groups were encouraged to circulate the engagement package to other organizations in their networks. This package included a discussion paper outlining the purpose and intent of the loan forgiveness benefit, a Program description and a questionnaire.

The questionnaire sought feedback from stakeholders on Budget 2022 announcements and a variety of subjects relating to potential enhancements to the loan forgiveness benefit. For example, stakeholders were asked about the following current requirements: the minimum service threshold of 400 hours, the full year of employment (12 consecutive months) and the five-year loan forgiveness benefit maximum.

They were also asked to identify up to five health care occupations in order of priority, beyond family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners, which are most urgently needed in under-served rural and remote communities with a rationale and evidence for their selections and prioritization. In addition, stakeholders were able to indicate whether there were shortages in professions outside of health care (e.g. social services, education, etc.).

Stakeholder feedback from the 2022 questionnaire

The Program received 29 responses (a 28% response rate) from the following stakeholder groups in fall 2022: professional associations in health care and other essential services, provincial/territorial health ministries, organizations representing the communal interests of under-served rural and remote communities, Indigenous stakeholders, and NAGSFA and ICCSFA members.

In response to the question on potential changes to the required minimum service threshold of 400 hours, 10 stakeholders, the majority of whom represented health care advocacy groups, indicated that the minimum service requirement for eligibility for the loan forgiveness benefit was appropriate and should not be changed. One of the stakeholders noted that while they are comfortable with the current minimum service threshold, if a change was to be made, they would recommend an increase to the current hours.

On the same question, four other stakeholders indicated that they would like the hours increased. They suggested that increasing the threshold would mean increased service provision to under-served rural or remote communities, which would enable professionals to establish connections in the communities. Four additional stakeholder groups advocated for the hours to be decreased to further incentivize professionals to work in rural or remote communities.

Questionnaire results also showed that 14 stakeholders believed that increasing the one-year (12 consecutive months) commitment period would benefit communities by encouraging professionals to properly establish themselves during the period in which they would benefit from loan forgiveness, encouraging long-term retention of professionals.

Regarding the current five-year maximum loan forgiveness cap per profession, the questionnaire responses were varied. Some stakeholders indicated that the current forgiveness period was appropriate and should not be changed, while others suggested the period should be extended to provide a greater incentive for graduates to remain in under-served rural or remote communities.

In response to the question relating to shortages in professions outside of health care and to identify urgently needed additional health care professions in order of priority, 44 professions not currently eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit were recommended and ranked. Respondents recommended social workers, psychologists, physiotherapists, dentists and dental hygienists as the top five occupations to become eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit. Other professions outside of health care and social services, such as electricians, plumbers and carpenters, were also recommended.

Pre-budget 2022, 2023, and 2024 consultations

As part of the annual budget process, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (the Committee) led pre-budget consultations for Budget 2022, 2023, and 2024. Annual pre-budget consultations led by the Committee are comprehensive and national in scope. Over the course of those years, 11 professional associations representing both health care and social services occupations submitted pre-budget briefs. Each group advocated for the list of eligible occupations to include those they respectively represent.

Prepublication in the Canada Gazette, Part I

The regulations were prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for a 30-day comment period beginning on February 15, 2025, and closing on March 17, 2025. Almost all of the 449 comments from 255 commenters were received via Canada’s Online Regulatory Commenting System and published on the Canada Gazette website on April 14, 2025, making them viewable to the public. A few comments were also received via email. Stakeholders who submitted comments by email did not provide permission for the Program to publish their comments on the Canada Gazette website.

Generally, stakeholders were supportive of the regulations to expand the loan forgiveness benefit to the 10 new occupations. Comments received by the Program during the prepublication period are grouped and summarized into themes below. In response to the feedback received, minor changes were made to the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement to clarify eligibility where appropriate.

Adding occupations to the list of those eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit

The majority (268/449) of comments received advocated for the regulations to be further expanded to include additional occupations (ranked according to the frequency that they were mentioned), such as developmental services workers, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, social services workers, doctors of chiropractic, speech-language pathologists, optometrists, dieticians, mental health professionals, criminologists, dental assistants, medical laboratory technologists, physiotherapy graduates, physician assistants and veterinarians. The most common rationale provided was that the loan forgiveness benefit would have positive impacts on both under-served rural and remote communities, as these occupations are facing workforce shortages and for working professionals who are included in the expansion. The top three occupations that were requested to be included in the list of occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit were developmental services workers, psychotherapists and occupational therapists. The addition of developmental services workers was suggested by 92 commenters, while 66 advocated for psychotherapists and 47 advocated for occupational therapists. The comments mainly cited acute shortages in under-served rural and remote communities, similar educational background and work experience to occupations that are on the list and the high loan balance of graduates in these fields of studies as their rationale.

Developmental services workers suggested that the definition of personal support workers was not comprehensive and recommended that it include the provision of health care, supportive residential, developmental services and mental health in home care settings. Developmental service workers also emphasized that they are required to complete two-year post-secondary programs, possess more education and experience than personal support workers and are critically needed in under-served rural and remote communities. Since personal support workers are not regulated in any jurisdiction, the eligibility for the loan forgiveness benefit in this category is not derived from an entitlement to practice, the duration of their training or their work title. Developmental services workers could be eligible for the benefit if the work they are performing meets the definition of personal support workers in the regulations, independent of their job title. The definition of personal support worker set out in the regulations is intentionally broad and includes performing support work in health care and home care settings as directed by a regulated healthcare and community health organization, regardless of the job title, with an aim of capturing the different environments where these professionals work.

There were also multiple comments from individuals advocating for psychotherapists and occupational therapists to be included in the list of eligible occupations. These individuals suggested that services provided in under-served rural and remote communities by psychotherapists and occupational therapists are as important as those provided by other professionals, such as social workers and psychologists, which have been included in the expansion of occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit. Stakeholders also indicated that these professions provide life saving, valuable and essential mental health services in under-served rural and remote communities. Overall, stakeholders indicated that the loan forgiveness benefit, if expanded to their respective occupations, would help alleviate the high student loan debt post-graduation, reduce existing health care system burdens and ensure the availability of a full spectrum of health care and social services, which would result in improved access to care and health outcomes.

In developing the regulatory amendments, the Government of Canada considered several factors to determine the newly eligible occupations, including labour market information, stakeholder feedback and existing efforts by all levels of government to address the workforce crisis in health care and social services. Ultimately, the occupations that were included in the regulations were those announced in Budget 2024, and were selected because of the important role they play in the delivery of critical health care or social services. Additionally, certain occupations were selected because they support the implementation of Government of Canada priorities, namely the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system, the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the National Pharmacare Plan. The Government of Canada recognizes that there are numerous other occupations in shortage in under-served rural and remote communities that are not included in this expansion; however, given the occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit are set out in the legislation, changes to this list can only be done through a legislative amendment. As a result, these comments are out of scope of these regulatory amendments.

Clarifying eligibility

The Program received about 90 comments requesting clarification about the proposed amendments and expressing concerns about some of the eligibility criteria for the loan forgiveness benefit. For example, a few commenters wanted to know if pharmacists who have not completed a four-year undergraduate degree before their professional pharmacy degree will qualify for the benefit. To address the concerns regarding pharmacists’ eligibility, the Program has revised the Description section to clarify that, regardless of their educational pathway, pharmacists can receive the loan forgiveness benefit if they meet all other eligibility criteria. In other words, pharmacists who have not completed a four-year undergraduate degree before their professional pharmacy degree will qualify for the benefit. Other commenters were concerned that the benefit would only be granted to new graduates or that eligibility to receive the benefit will depend on an individual’s location of residence or employer headquarters, rather than the location in which their work hours are completed. The Program acknowledges these concerns and can confirm that the loan forgiveness benefit is not only available to new graduates, but is available to any eligible borrower with a loan in good standing. Eligibility criteria are set out in the regulations. When assessing an applicant’s eligibility to receive the benefit, the location in which the work was completed will be considered, as opposed to the applicant’s location of residence or employer’s headquarters.

Another common concern was that the benefit will only be extended to professionals working in under-served rural and remote communities with populations under 30 000. They urged the Program to expand the definition of an under-served rural and remote community to include population areas of more than 30 000. On November 6, 2024, the Program amended the definition of “under-served rural or remote community” to include all communities with a population under 30 000, replacing the previous definition, which excluded communities that were considered within the boundaries of a census metropolitan area. The change in definition resulted in over 200 communities gaining eligibility. Therefore, no changes were made to the regulations.

Some commenters suggested other changes to the eligibility requirements, including making the loan forgiveness benefit available to everyone regardless of work location and removing the five-year maximum cap on the loan forgiveness period. The loan forgiveness benefit is focused on improving the availability of health care services for Canadians living in under-served rural or remote communities. Under-served rural or remote communities face unique challenges across the various social determinants of health. In particular, lack of access to health care providers results in unmet health care needs, including lack of preventive and screening services, and treatment of illnesses. Research demonstrates that communities with populations above 30 000 typically have a broader scope of health care services compared to smaller communities, and residents have to travel shorter distances to access health care services compared to smaller communities.footnote 5 The five-year cap reflects Program data which shows that most beneficiaries pay off their federal loans in three to four years and would, therefore, not benefit from extending the benefit beyond the five-year loan forgiveness period. The five-year cap also serves as an integrity measure to ensure that the Program is used as intended and not prolonged indefinitely. Therefore, no changes were made to the regulations.

Loan forgiveness amounts by occupation

A few commenters highlighted concerns with the occupation groupings and the corresponding loan forgiveness amounts. The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association commended the commitment to expand the loan forgiveness benefit to dental hygienists but recommended including dental hygienists in Group 2, rather than Group 3, to allow for a maximum loan forgiveness amount of $30,000 over five years. In their view, the proposed loan forgiveness amount for this group is not enough to incentivize significant numbers of dental hygienists to move to under-served rural or remote communities. The proposed occupation groupings were determined based on the most common minimum education requirements across the country and to represent the amount of loan debt that the Program expects eligible borrowers may have. As the loan forgiveness benefit is limited to forgiving a borrower’s outstanding loans, setting forgiveness amounts too high could undermine the goal of retaining health care and social service professionals in eligible under-served rural and remote communities. Allowing loans to be forgiven quickly could remove the incentive for the borrower to stay in an eligible community. Ultimately, the regulations seek to balance the likely amount of loans owed with the amount that can be forgiven to maximize retention and the amount of service provided to under-served rural or remote communities.

Other commenters emphasized the difference in educational requirements between provinces and territories for dental hygienists, explaining that these variances may create unfairness in the groupings and the corresponding loan forgiveness amounts. For example, commenters stated some provinces require four-year degrees, while others accept an 18-month diploma. Therefore, they argued that dental hygienists with a four-year degree be included in Group 2 and graduates with an 18-month diploma be in Group 3. Other commenters expressed concern over the assigned group for midwives. They argued midwives should be included with doctors in Group 1, as their advanced educational training, specialization and expertise in prenatal, birth and postnatal care are more aligned with obstetricians and family physicians than nurses within the health care system. Another commenter stated that the amount of loan forgiveness for social workers is not adequate, given the cost associated with their programs of study. In response to the concerns above, it should be noted that regulating the licensing and registration of these occupations is a matter of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, which can lead to some variation. Additionally, there are often education pathways that a borrower can choose that exceed the minimum required for licensing or registration in a particular jurisdiction. The grouping of occupations set out in the regulations is intended to reflect that borrowers in occupations with higher educational requirements are likely to have higher loan debt that could be forgiven through the loan forgiveness benefit. Although the comments received suggested that dental hygienists fit with group 2 occupational requirements, dental hygienists are only required to complete up to a three-year diploma, and, therefore, were included in Group 3. Similarly, midwives are required to complete a three- or four-year direct-entry undergraduate degree and do not undertake multiple degrees as is required of Group 1 occupations, so they have been assigned to Group 2.

Outside Program authorities or unrelated to the regulations

The Program also received a few comments that are outside the scope of this regulatory proposal. Some commenters suggested that the loan forgiveness benefit should be extended to include personal student lines of credit and personal loans obtained through financial institutions, provincial student loans and United States federal student loans. The loan forgiveness benefit is established by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act and the Canada Student Loans Act, which only provide the authority to forgive federal student loans. Therefore, extending the loan forgiveness benefit to other types of student debt, including provincial student loans, private loans including student lines of credit and student loans issued by foreign jurisdictions is out of scope of this proposal and also outside of the scope of the legislative authorities.

There were also other general comments that were unrelated to this proposal, including a critique of the student financial assistance program and a question about why Quebec is not participating in the Program. As these comments are beyond the scope of the regulatory amendments, they did not result in any changes to the regulations.

Cost-benefit analysis

A small number of comments were related to the cost-benefit analysis section, with one commenter requesting the full analysis, which the Program provided.

Another commenter raised concerns that the Program is underestimating the expected number of dental hygienists that would receive the benefit. The prepublication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, showed that 1 336 are expected to move to an under-served rural or remote community due to the regulations coming into effect. Of these, it is estimated that 428 would be primarily motivated by the loan forgiveness benefit to provide services in under-served rural or remote communities. These results are derived from detailed projections of the loan forgiveness benefits, costs, number of beneficiaries under the assumptions and data listed in the full cost-benefit analysis that is available upon request. The commenter did not provide any specific comment on assumptions, data or approaches used in the cost-benefit analysis that could serve as a basis to review the cost-benefit analysis methodology and generate different results.

Similarly, a commenter expressed concerns regarding the estimated costs, benefits and number of beneficiaries in the absence of historical data demonstrating the effectiveness of the loan forgiveness benefit. Historical loan forgiveness data for doctors and nurses was used to estimate the number of beneficiaries for newly eligible occupations. This information was combined with Census 2021 data and a 2020 survey of recipients. Additionally, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the loan forgiveness benefit published in 2024 and titled Evaluation of the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness for Family Doctors and Nurses Benefit found that the majority of professionals and students thought the loan forgiveness benefit contributed to the expansion of primary healthcare services in under-served rural and remote communities.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

The regulatory amendments are not expected to have differential impacts on Indigenous peoples or negative implications for modern treaties, according to the Government of Canada’s obligations in relation to rights protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The regulatory amendments were assessed for modern treaty implications following the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation. The assessment found no immediate impacts on modern treaty obligations. Indigenous communities are expected to benefit from the regulatory amendments.

While engaging in the suite of proposed amendments to the loan forgiveness benefit in 2022, the Department of Employment and Social Development consulted the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC). IPAC recommended that while financial incentives would encourage people to work in under-served rural and remote areas, the focus should be on building the community’s capacity, such as training local residents who are more likely to stay in their home communities over the long term. In addition, IPAC recommended that resources may be better directed toward reducing barriers for people from under-served rural and remote communities to enter medical school and subsidizing their training and residency in their home areas.

Post-secondary education admission policies and the curriculum for education and training are outside the purview of the federal government. Nevertheless, the Program particularly supports Indigenous learners by exempting them from the required annual fixed student contribution toward education costs. Need assessments for Indigenous learners also exempt funding received through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (as well as through the Métis Nation and Inuit post-secondary education strategies) when determining a student’s resources.

Indigenous peoples are expected to be positively impacted by the expansion of the loan forgiveness benefit. In 2020, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development identified roughly 60% of Canada’s Indigenous peoples as living in predominantly under-served rural and remote communities, which is approximately 30% more than the non-Indigenous population.footnote 6 The 2021 census estimates that there are 1 807 250 Indigenous people living in Canada.footnote 7 These figures were used as proxies to identify the potential population of Indigenous peoples living in under-served rural or remote communities. It is estimated that there are approximately one million Indigenous individuals being impacted by these regulatory amendments. According to the 2020 Indigenous Services Canada Annual Report to Parliament, Indigenous peoples also make up the largest proportion of the population in Nunavut (86%), the Northwest Territories (51%) and the Yukon (23%).footnote 8

Instrument choice

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act  footnote 9 and the Canada Student Loans Act  footnote 10 provide the authorities for the loan forgiveness benefit with the detailed conditions to be prescribed by the related regulations. Amendments to both acts to add 10 occupations to the list of those eligible for the Program’s loan forgiveness benefit were part of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, which received royal assent on June 20, 2024. These legislative amendments will be brought into force by an Order in Council concurrently with the regulations. Regulatory amendments were required to provide a definition of newly eligible occupations and to indicate the amount of loan forgiveness available to each. This ensures clarity and transparency for beneficiaries. As the regulations already prescribe this information for family physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners benefiting from the loan forgiveness benefit, the new occupations will be incorporated into the existing framework.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

The stakeholders that would be most directly affected by the regulatory amendments are the residents of under-served rural or remote communities, borrowers with outstanding student loans who work in newly eligible occupations and the Government of Canada.

This cost-benefit analysisfootnote 11 assessed the incremental impacts to stakeholders of expanding the reach of the loan forgiveness benefit to early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, physiotherapists and psychologists who choose to work in a designated under-served rural or remote community, compared to a baseline scenario in which these regulatory amendments are not made.

The net monetized benefit of implementing the regulatory amendments will be $290.3 million in net present value, over the next 10 years, for a benefit-to-cost ratio of 1.4:1.

Annually, it is anticipated that the regulatory amendments will directly benefit about 7 968 federal student loan borrowers in the first year of implementation (2025–2026) and up to about 19 025 borrowers per year by 2034–2035. Among these beneficiaries, it is estimated that in 2025–2026, about 2 841 will have relocated to these under-served rural or remote communities, specifically because of the loan forgiveness benefit, increasing to about 3 024 by 2034–2035, for a total of 27 822 over 10 years. Additional early childhood educators in under-served rural and remote communities are expected to increase the labour force participation rates of parents with young children in those communities as more childcare spaces become available. This will, in turn, increase family income in under-served rural and remote communities and provide additional tax revenue to the Government of Canada. The number of people residing in a community eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit is estimated at 11.2 million, which represents approximately 30% of the Canadian population. The regulatory amendments will also increase the costs to the Government of Canada through additional loan forgiveness. These costs are equivalent to the expanded loan forgiveness benefit that will be provided to borrowers. A larger volume of loan forgiveness applications is expected to increase the costs payable by the Government of Canada to the private sector service provider to process and verify these applications, along with costs for modernizing the application process. The benefit-to-cost ratio excludes significant additional qualitative benefits to Canadians living in under-served rural or remote communities and Canadian society, such as improved access to health/social services and the associated benefits. Consequently, this study concludes that the benefits of implementing these regulatory amendments outweigh the costs.

Regarding distributional analysis, the regulatory amendments are expected to impact affected stakeholders based on attributes such as region, gender, income and age. People living in under-served rural and remote communities often have lower incomes and are slightly older than the Canadian population.footnote 12,footnote 13 Both rural men and women face health disparities and have worse health outcomes compared to the general population.footnote 14 The regulatory amendments will positively impact under-served rural and remote communities by providing increased access to health care and social service providers, which, in turn, may result in improved health and social outcomes for the rural population. Research demonstrates that financial incentives contribute to the recruitment and retention of various health care and social service providers to work in under-served rural and remote communities.footnote 15 In particular, the loan forgiveness benefit is an important source of financial assistance for those who choose to work in under-served rural or remote communities and result in a higher rate of retention even when one no longer qualifies for loan forgiveness.footnote 16,footnote 17

Cost-benefit statement
Monetized benefits

The regulatory amendments will provide an incentive for specified health care and social service professionals to work in eligible under-served rural and remote communities. These benefits were monetized by attributing the equivalent estimated costs carried by the Government of Canada for loan forgiveness as a benefit to the borrowers. Additional early childhood educators in under-served rural and remote communities are expected to increase the labour force participation rates of parents with young children in those communities as more childcare spaces become available. This will, in turn, increase family income in under-served rural and remote communities and provide additional tax revenue to the Government of Canada, which are monetized benefits.

Table 2: Monetized benefits of expanding eligibility of the loan forgiveness benefit to 10 additional health care and social service occupations in under-served rural or remote communities
Impacted stakeholder Description of benefit First year (2025–2026) Second year (2026–2027) Fifth year (2029–2030) Final year (2034–2035) Total (present value) Annualized value
Program borrowers Loan forgiveness to Program borrowers employed in occupations newly eligible for the benefit $45.5M $62.0M $97.4M $108.6M $644.8M $91.8M
Canadians Additional net income for Canadians joining the workforce due to additional childcare spaces from early childhood educators who are motivated to work in rural or remote areas because of loan forgiveness $8.7M $13.4M $31.9M $74.2M $254.4M $36.2M
Federal government Additional tax revenue from increasing the workforce in rural areas due to additional childcare spaces from early childhood educators who were motivated by the loan forgiveness benefit to work in rural areas $1.5M $2.4M $5.6M $13.1M $44.9M $6.4M
All stakeholders Total benefits $55.7M $77.8M $134.9M $195.9M $944.1M $134.4M
Monetized costs

The cost to the Government of Canada for providing loan forgiveness is based on estimates using the Census 2021 population by National Occupational Classification and the Program’s administrative data. The monetized costs include the loan forgiveness amounts paid to beneficiaries, the digitization of the application process, the processing and verification of applications and the costs related to filling out the application form. The total monetized costs are estimated at $653.8M (present value) over the next 10 years.

Table 3: Monetized costs of expanding eligibility of the loan forgiveness benefit to 10 additional health care and social service occupations in under-served rural or remote communities
Impacted stakeholder Description of cost First year (2025–2026) Second year (2026–2027) Fifth year (2029–2030) Final year (2034–2035) Total (present value) Annualized value
Federal government Additional loan forgiveness to Program borrowers employed in occupations that are becoming eligible for loan forgiveness $50.1M $62.2M $97.7M $109.0M $651.5M $92.8M
Program borrower Cost of filling the application $0.1M $0.2M $0.3M $0.4M $2.3M $0.3M
All stakeholders Total costs $50.2M $62.4M $98.1M $109.4M $653.8M $93.1M
Table 4: Summary of monetized costs and benefits
Impacts First year (2025–2026) Second year (2026–2027) Fifth year (2029–2030) Final year (2034–2035) Total (present value) Annualized value
Total benefits $55.7M $77.8M $134.9M $195.9M $944.1M $134.4M
Total costs $50.2M $62.4M $98.1M $109.4M $653.8M $93.1M
NET IMPACT $5.5M $15.4M $36.9M $86.5M $290.3M $41.3M
Quantified impacts (in non-$)
Table 5: Incremental number of professionals incentivized to work in rural or remote areas because of the loan forgiveness benefit
Impacts First year (2025–2026) Second year (2026–2027) Fifth year (2029–2030) Final year (2034–2035) Total
Dentists 99 89 95 106 974
Pharmacists 182 162 173 193 1 778
Psychologists 84 75 80 89 819
Physiotherapists 72 64 69 77 705
Midwives 6 5 6 7 60
Dental hygienists 44 39 42 46 428
Personal support workers 559 500 533 595 5 474
Teachers 1 252 1 120 1 195 1 333 12 264
Social workers 178 159 170 190 1 747
Early childhood educators 365 326 348 388 3 573
Total 2 841 2 539 2 711 3 024 27 822
Qualitative impacts

Increasing the number of health care and social service providers working in under-served rural or remote communities is expected to help improve access to health care and social services, such as child care and social work.footnote 18 Access to a regular primary health care provider is generally associated with better health outcomes and providing local access to health care and social service providers helps address the health and social well-being of the local population.footnote 19

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the regulatory amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply to these regulatory amendments, as there will be no change in the administrative burden on businesses.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The regulatory amendments are not related to any commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum. While the ICCSFA is a federal-provincial/territorial body, it does not focus on regulatory cooperation. In addition, there is no international agreement with respect to designated international educational institutions.

The Department of Employment and Social Development has consulted with provincial and territorial partners who have been supportive of the measure. In addition, although Quebec, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories do not currently participate in the Program, they are still eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit for family physicians and nurses, including the proposed expansion. Eligible professionals who received a student loan in a participating province or territory are still permitted to benefit from the loan forgiveness benefit if they worked in an under-served rural or remote community in Quebec, Nunavut or the Northwest Territories.

The amendments are aligned with provincial/territorial strategies to increase health care capacity in under-served rural and remote communities. In their 2024 provincial budgets, Albertafootnote 20 and Saskatchewanfootnote 21 each committed to making significant investments in the recruitment and retention of health care workers in under-served rural and remote communities. At a meeting with the Department of Employment and Social Development in November 2023, representatives from Alberta indicated that they have targeted initiatives to address acute labour shortages in the aviation field and advocated for the federal government to include aviation professionals to the list of occupations for the federal loan forgiveness benefit.

In addition, Saskatchewan and British Columbia have loan forgiveness programs in place that target health professions. Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador have the following grant and bursary programs aimed at health care graduates:

Meanwhile, several provinces and territories, such as Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, also offer broad loan forgiveness programs not targeted at specific occupations.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

The regulatory amendments will support eligible borrowers and, in a broader sense, the greater Canadian population by increasing the number of health and supporting services professionals in under-served rural and remote communities. The gender-based analysis plus did not identify any unintended adverse impacts resulting from the regulatory amendments.

While this measure does not directly target women, in 2022, many health care and supporting services workers were women. Regarding the regulatory amendments, about 83% of people working in occupations eligible for the loan forgiveness benefit will be women.footnote 27 Furthermore, despite the health care sector being predominantly female, women are less likely to hold supervisory positions and are facing a 24% gender wage gap.footnote 28 As a result, the expanded loan forgiveness benefit will represent a greater financial benefit for eligible women.

Regarding the impacts of these regulatory amendments by age group, Program data indicates that loan forgiveness beneficiaries are typically between the ages of 18 and 29. Furthermore, 74% of individuals with outstanding loans are under 35 years of age. Therefore, the regulatory amendments are expected to benefit more borrowers under the age of 35 compared to other age groups, as these beneficiaries are more likely to be repaying their loans and more likely to be influenced by financial incentives.

Under-served rural and remote communities face historical barriers to health care and social services. In conjunction with other initiatives to increase health care and social service capacity in under-served rural and remote communities, the regulatory amendments are expected to help support increased access to health care and social services in these communities. Compared to the urban population, rural residents are more likely to experience detrimental health outcomes, such as injuries, chronic conditions, obesity and shorter life expectancy.footnote 29footnote 30 Higher preventable and treatable mortality rates in under-served rural and remote communities could be attributed to geographic barriers, limited health care services and unmet health care needs. By improving access to health care providers and social services in under-served rural and remote communities, these regulatory amendments will help address the health disparities that exist between urban and rural populations. Furthermore, people living in under-served rural and remote communities often have lower incomes, and low-income women in particular experience social, economic and institutional exclusions, which women with higher incomes do not face.footnote 31 These barriers pose serious consequences to their overall health and well-being. Additionally, childcare availability, or lack thereof, often primarily affects a mother’s decision to return to work, which results in greater income loss for women when compared to men.footnote 32 However, increasing the availability of childcare through the increase in early childhood educators will enable women to more easily participate in the rural labour force.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The regulatory amendments are intended to come into force in fall 2025.

The intention is that qualifying borrowers in the newly eligible occupations will be able to access the loan forgiveness benefit immediately upon the coming into force of the regulatory amendments. In other words, newly eligible professionals will be able to access the loan forgiveness benefit for work they completed up to one year before the implementation date, even if the profession was not eligible when they started working. For example, a dentist who starts working in an eligible, under-served rural or remote community on November 15, 2024, will be able to apply for the loan forgiveness benefit as of November 15, 2025, if they have completed a year of work in that community and the regulations are in force by that date.

Existing federal-provincial/territorial and stakeholder forums will be used to notify all stakeholders of the regulatory amendments.

The Program is delivered in collaboration with nine participating provinces, one territory and a private sector service provider. As this benefit only applies to federal loans, the service provider is exclusively responsible for implementing this measure. This measure will involve the service provider implementing operational system changes and require the development of a new, automated application system and verification model to manage the expected increase in application volume.

The enhancements to the loan forgiveness benefit will be incorporated into existing performance measurement and evaluation mechanisms. The Department of Employment and Social Development Evaluation Directorate recently completed an evaluation of the Program in March 2021footnote 33 and an evaluation of this loan forgiveness benefit, released on January 22, 2024.footnote 34 The general evaluation found that the majority (66%) of borrowers were aware that the federal government provides student loans and grants. However, few (17%) were aware of the importance of the federal government in the total financial support they received. The evaluation of the loan forgiveness benefit found that even though the Program undertook extensive consultations prior to launching the loan forgiveness benefit and provided detailed information about eligibility and the application process on the Government of Canada website, beneficiaries mostly learned about the benefit from different sources. Since the launch of the benefit, awareness creation has not been a key component. Therefore, word of mouth has been the most common means of communication about the loan forgiveness benefit among students and professionals. The Evaluation Directorate recommended that the Program should explore outreach opportunities to increase awareness of the benefit among key stakeholders, especially among intended beneficiaries.

Compliance and enforcement

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act requires that an actuarial report about the Program be tabled in Parliament at least once every three years. This report provides an estimate of Program costs and revenues, a 25-year forecast of future Program costs and revenues, and an explanation of the methodology and actuarial and economic assumptions used to produce the figures presented in the report. The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act also requires an annual report on the Program to be tabled in Parliament. The annual report provides detailed Program statistics (including the value of the portfolio) and outlines key objectives, initiatives and accomplishments achieved over a given academic year, and integrity policies.footnote 35

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Act provides authority for the Program to ensure that federal grants and loans are not provided to students who are not eligible. Subsection 17(1) of this act provides for a fine of up to $1,000 for students who knowingly provide any false or misleading information, including by omission, in an application or other document. Also, section 17.1 allows for any such student to be denied additional federal student financial assistance as well as certain other Program benefits, such as repayment assistance.

Contact

Erin Hetherington
Director
Learning Branch
Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
Employment and Social Development Canada
Email: EDSC.DGA.PCAFE.MCPP-SEC.CSFAP.LB.ESDC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca