Call for Educator Student Loan Forgiveness Now
The federal government is failing to uphold its commitment on student loan forgiveness for educators working in rural and remote communities
The 2024 Federal Budget committed to expanding the National Student Loan Forgiveness Program to educators working in rural and remote communities. Regrettably, and despite the CTF/FCE’s efforts, the Government of Canada has not made any real progress on implementation.
Join us to call on the federal government to fulfill its promise.
The Facts
As students and educators across the country return to school, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) needs your support to get the attention of the federal government.
In Budget 2024, the Liberal government committed to forgiving portions of student loans for teachers and early childhood educators who work in rural and remote areas of Canada – areas that desperately need more educators. Loan forgiveness already exists for doctors and nurses, and the Liberal government committed to expanding this to other professions like teachers, early childhood educators, and social workers. Loan forgiveness has long served as an incentive for individuals to relocate to areas of the country that are typically underserved.
This program would be transformative for new teachers starting their careers, making life more affordable at a time when we’re seeing a cost-of-living crisis, and it would bring in teachers to areas of the country that have long had a shortage of qualified educators.
In February 2025, a bulletin released by the Government of Canada said that loan forgiveness changes were “intended to come into force in fall 2025.” Hundreds of educators have emailed the CTF/FCE asking for information about how to register or when the program would reflect a change in their federal student loan balance.
Despite numerous meetings and attempts at reassurance that the program would be moving forward, the CTF/FCE has not received any updates from the Government of Canada on this issue.
Call to Action
We’re asking you to send the letter below to let Prime Minister Carney, the Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu, and your local Member of Parliament (MP) know that the Liberal government should be making good on a promise made to teachers and educators in the spring of 2024.
At a time when classrooms are overflowing with students, rural and remote communities in Canada need more resources and economic development, and the families of many educators are facing the cost-of-living crisis head-on, the Government should fulfill their promise to help address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
Recently, the Government of Canada made the unconscionable decision to force striking Air Canada flight attendants, pushing back against lagging wages and the expectations of unpaid labour, back to work. This decision highlighted the reality that so far, this new Federal Government has not acted in ways that support working class Canadians. Now, is the time to ask them to do better.
To learn more about the state of public education in Canada, check out the CTF/FCE’s latest research findings.
Take Action
Call on the Government of Canada to Deliver
Stay Informed
The CTF/FCE is committed to keeping you informed on progress towards the implementation of this program. Subscribe to our mailing list, “Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program | Programme canadien d’exonération du remboursement de prêts d’études” to be the first to know of any updates from the Government of Canada.
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