Doug Ford’s  recent announcement on undoing the tuition freeze that had been in place since 2019, in addition to major cuts on the amount of OSAP grants students can expect to receive this fall, have caused an undeniable impact to students. 

What changes can students expect?

As of fall 2026, postsecondary students will no longer see a maximum of 85 per cent grants. Instead, that number will drop to a maximum of 25 per cent grants, while 75 per cent of funding will now come in the form of loans. 

Alongside such a drastic reform to the province’s OSAP funding, Ontario’s seven-year tuition freeze will come to an abrupt halt. In turn, postsecondary institutions, many of which have been facing major financial deficits, can further see a slight revenue boost through tuition rises, in addition to the increased provincial funding announced for postsecondary institutions.

How will the rise in tuition and reduced OSAP funding affect students?

Institutions, including UW, will be permitted to increase the cost of program tuition by up to two per cent each year for up to three years.

So, how does this stack up in terms of real-world cost to UW students? Essentially, it means that an additional $0.47 per day will be added come fall term.

How are UW students feeling about the OSAP cuts?

It comes as no surprise that with the rising cost of living and unemployment today’s students are already grappling with, news of rising tuition and reduced funding would be unwelcome. Some UW students shared their thoughts with Imprint on the changes:

Rohit Seedhar, a fourth year arts and business student, finds the recent cuts to OSAP “terrible.” He felt the premier’s comments were out of touch, mentioning how “the premier thinks that students are spending OSAP money on things like cologne and shoes when it’s simply not true for the majority of students that require OSAP.” Seedhar echoed the sentiment many other students are feeling, when he mentioned how for students from lower income households, OSAP provided much-needed financial support they “otherwise can’t receive.” In sum, he believes the provincial government’s decision displays a lack of understanding for how students will be affected.

Usman Fakhri, a fourth year chemistry student, reflected on his own experiences with OSAP to date, admitting that despite having financial need, he often received more loans than grants. He admits that while for himself the OSAP cuts have not affected his funding, he cannot speak for students in more precarious financial situations as they would likely be negatively impacted by these changes.

Nevertheless, Fakhri empathized with Doug Ford’s frustrations about misuse of OSAP funding, adding, “I’ve known numerous people whose parents make well over 200k who somehow got OSAP (probably by lying) and got grants and invested that money into bitcoin or other stuff instead of their education.”

He conceded that misuses of the program do exist, however he feels that the government should do more to crack down on these specific cases “rather than erasing grants almost entirely and hurting the students who rely on OSAP more than I do.”

Fakhri remains in favour of a reform to the OSAP system to reduce misuse, but is aware that for low-income students, such changes will no doubt pose a greater challenge when it comes to funding their education.

How can students make their voices heard?

The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) has released their own statements in response to the new provincial funding plan and its impact on student debt. 

“Though we were glad to see positive developments in university funding, we are deeply disappointed that these steps are overshadowed by massive losses to student funding,” WUSA President Damian Mikhail said in a release.

Recognizing the major impact of the announced tuition increases and OSAP cuts students on our campus will be faced with in fall 2026, the WUSA Board of Directors unanimously approved a student vote. The vote will serve to inform WUSA if they will be holding a student strike on March 4 as a response to the proposed OSAP grant cuts.

UW students interested in making their voices heard can vote in favour or opposition of holding a strike, by logging onto vote.wusa.ca using their WatIAM credentials as of this Friday Feb. 27 at 12 a.m. until March 2 at 4 p.m.

The student rally is set to occur at the Arts Quad on March 4 at 11 a.m.

All students are invited to attend the rally. Students interested in sharing how the proposed funding cuts will affect them are invited to email pres@wusa.ca.