Canada Student Grants: amounts by category
Canada Student Grants are the best money in the federal system, because they are not repaid as long as you remain eligible. You do not apply for them separately: when you apply for student aid through your province or territory and show at least one dollar of assessed financial need, you are automatically assessed for grants. The table below gives the 2025-2026 maxima, as set out in the regulations for the loan year starting August 1, 2025. Your actual grant depends on your family income and family size, and it phases down as income rises above the threshold for maximum grant. The income thresholds themselves are set out in the same regulations: for 2025-2026, the full-time maximum-grant threshold starts at $37,701 of annual family income for a family of one and rises to $99,751 for a family of seven or more.
| Item | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Time Students | Up to $525 per month of study | Up to $4,200 per year on an eight-month study period |
| Part-Time Students | Up to $2,520 per academic year | Fixed annual maximum |
| Full-Time Students with Dependants | Up to $280 per dependant per month | Per dependant child, in addition to other grants |
| Part-Time Students with Dependants | Up to $2,688 per academic year | Annual maximum |
| Students with Disabilities | $2,800 per academic year | Fixed annual amount |
| Services and Equipment for Students with Disabilities | Up to $20,000 per loan year | For exceptional education-related costs; separate application |
Reading the table honestly
Three cautions keep the table honest. First, these are maxima, not promises. A student whose family income sits just below the cut-off for any grant will receive far less than the maximum, and a student at or above the cut-off receives nothing from that grant. Second, the 2025-2026 maxima reflect a temporary 40 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels, extended for that year by regulation; Canada.ca's full-time grant page confirms the same $525-per-month, $4,200-per-year maxima continuing until the end of the 2026-2027 school year, but the regulations for each loan year are the final authority, so confirm the year you are applying for. Third, the Services and Equipment grant is different in kind from the others: it is based on the actual cost of approved services and equipment — note-takers, tutors, interpreters, technical aids, and similar supports — and it needs a separate application with documentation of the disability-related need.
Grants stack, but need still caps the total
You can receive more than one grant in the same year. A full-time student with dependants and a disability, for example, could be assessed for the full-time grant, the dependants grant, and the disability grant together. But the total package is still bounded by your assessed need and by the program's rules: grants are paid first and loans fill the remaining gap, so a generous grant package means a smaller loan. That is the single most valuable planning insight in the whole federal system. Before you accept a loan, check that every grant you might qualify for has actually been assessed — errors in family income or family size on the application are the usual reason a grant is missed.
A note on the older figures you may meet online: many guides still quote the pre-pandemic grant levels — $3,000 per year for full-time students, $1,800 for part-time students, $2,000 for students with disabilities, and $200 per month per dependant. Those were the 2019-2020 levels. The 2025-2026 figures in the table above are 40 percent higher, and they are the ones to use for a 2025-2026 application. If a guide quotes the old numbers without a year attached, treat it as out of date.
Sources: Canada Gazette Part II, SOR/2025-113 (2025-2026 grant maxima and income thresholds); Canada.ca, Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students page (maxima confirmed until the end of the 2026-2027 school year); StudentAid BC, Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment page (up to $20,000 per loan year, eligible services).