Educator Student Loan Forgiveness Implementation

In addition to being a teacher or an early childhood educator (ECE) working in an eligible community, to qualify you need to:

• Complete 10 consecutive months of employment;
• Provide a minimum of 400 hours of in-person services;
• Have a federal student loan in good standing (must be up to date on your payments) and;
• Be certified or registered in your profession.

Over five years, the program is set to provide up to $30,000 for a teacher and $15,000 for an ECE, an amount that can significantly improve families’ financial situation.

The annual loan forgiveness amount for eligible teachers will be:

• Year 1: $4,000
• Year 2: $5,000
• Year 3: $6,000
• Year 4: $7,000
• Year 5: $8,000

Loan forgiveness can only be applied to the outstanding part of your federal student loan. It does not apply to the provincial or territorial part of your loan. You can contact your province or territory to check if they also offer loan forgiveness.

For the purposes of loan forgiveness, the definition of an eligible community is a rural area or a population centre with no more than 30,000 people living in it (according to census figures). 

To find out if a community may be eligible, use the postal code lookup tool on the Government of Canada’s website. As of January 15, the lookup tool is currently being updated with the latest postal codes. 

You can apply for Canada Student Loan Forgiveness while you are in repayment, which includes your 6-month non-repayment period. You can also apply while you are pursuing further studies.

Teachers who have worked 10 consecutive months as of December 31, 2025* (or later) and meet all other eligibility criteria can apply by mail using the following form: Application for Canada Student Loan Forgiveness. Paper applications will be processed after March 16, 2026. It is expected that by mid-March 2026, educators will be able to apply online.

Once you have worked in an eligible occupation for 10 consecutive months, you have 90 days to apply for the benefit.

*Currently, due to the requirement for 10 months of prior consecutive work, educators may not be eligible to apply until June 2026. We are seeking answers and solutions to this possible delay in eligibility. Despite this regulatory, we recommend that members apply for loan forgiveness at their earliest convenience.

Please note that applications may be rejected given the current work period regulations. Members who receive rejections are encouraged to email the CTF/FCE at [email protected] so that we may track this issue and continue to advocate for regulatory improvements.

Loan forgiveness has long served as an incentive for eligible occupations, such as doctors and nurses, to relocate to areas of the country that are typically underserved. At a time when rural and remote communities in Canada need more resources and economic development, this program aims to attract and retain qualified educators in rural areas.

Recent national survey data from the CTF/FCE underscores the urgency of the situation for educators working in rural areas:

• 71% of them say there is a shortage of qualified teachers at their school;
• 62% report that the shortage of qualified teachers has increased since the 2023-2024 school year;
• 44% have considered leaving the profession in the last year.

This life-changing program is one way that the federal government can help to alleviate the teacher retention and recruitment crisis in Canada.

After years of tireless advocacy by the CTF/FCE and its members, the implementation of this program is a major advocacy milestone and a testament to the power of our collective action.

We commend the federal government for listening to a direct CTF/FCE ask and for taking this step to help alleviate the retention and recruitment crisis in Canada’s public education system.

The CTF/FCE is taking the necessary steps to inform as many teachers and educators as possible while also learning as much about the application process as we can to be able to provide support. We are also actively seeking meetings with the federal government to address the regulatory issue that may prevent teachers from being eligible until June 2026 due to a requirement for 10 months prior consecutive work. If your application is rejected given the current work period regulations, we encourage you to send an email to [email protected] so that we may track this issue and continue to advocate on your behalf.