What's the Canada GSL Deposit?

If you receive a bank deposit in your bank account that says Canada GSL deposit, that means your government student loan has arrived. You can see this on your online or paper bank statement. That said, let’s take a look at how student funding from the federal government works.

Canadian Government Student Loans 

In Canada, you can get federal and provincial student loans and grants. These are available to both part-time and full-time eligible students. That said, whether you’re looking for government or provincial funding, you apply through your province/territory. When you apply, you’re automatically considered for both loans and Canada student grants and will be notified if you’re approved and what you’ve been approved for. 

How Canada GSL funding works is once you’ve received approval, your money will be deposited into your account. If you receive a grant, you don’t have to repay the funds. If you receive a loan, you do have to repay the funds, but not until after you’ve completed school. 

When it comes to Canada student loans, anyone can apply as long as they’re attending school, but there is no guarantee you’ll be approved or how much you’ll receive. The factors that affect your approval and approval amount are:

• What province or territory you reside
• Your family income
• How many dependants you have
• Your cost of tuition fees
• Your cost for living expenses
• Whether or not you have a disability
• What your course load looks like

It’s also important to keep in mind that there’s a lifetime limit on how many weeks you’re able to receive student aid through the student aid programs. If you’re a full-time student, you can receive up to a maximum of 340 weeks. There are some exceptions, though; if you’re enrolled in doctoral studies, you can receive up to a maximum of 400 weeks of funding. If you’re a student with a disability, you can receive up to 520 weeks of assistance. No matter how many weeks of funding you receive, though, all Canada GSL payments for loans are required to start 6 months once you’ve finished school. 

When GSL Deposits are Made

Whether you’ve been approved for provincial or federal loans or grants, the money is deposited into your account by the Canada Revenue Agency, aslo referred to as the CRA. Even though the federal government distributes the funding, the money is from both federal and provincial governments. 

Once you’ve been approved for a loan or grant, you’re most likely to receive your first payment in September in order to make the payments in time for your first semester. Typically, two payments are made to you throughout the school year, and the second one will arrive in January in order to cover the cost of the second semester. That said, in order to receive any payments, you will have to prove your school enrollment. If you receive a grant portion of funding, then you don’t have to pay it back. Any loan portions don’t have to be reaid until you’ve completed school. 

Application Requirements for Government Student Loans

When you’re considering a federal government student loan, there are a few eligibility requirements you have to meet first. These requirements are:

• You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• You must be actively enrolled in an eligible program and institution
• You must live in a part of Canada that supports the Canada GSL program
• You must fall within the income requirements

It’s important to remember that this funding is for those who are low-income and in need of assistance. Let’s take a look at the income requirements that need to be met in order to be approved for maximum GSL deposits.

The Amount You Can Receive From GSL’s

Depending on whether you get approved for a government student loan or grant, there are different amounts that you can receive. For the 2023 and 2024 school year, you can get up to $4,200 per year or up to $525 per month as a full-time student. As a full-time student with dependants, you can get up to $2,688 per dependant, which is issued independently from the full-time student grant. For part-time students, you can get up to $2,520 per year. This can be received every year of your undergrad studies. It’s important to keep in mind that the school year is different from a regular year; it runs from August 1 to July 31. 

GSL’s and Taxes

While most income you receive is considered to be taxable income, money from the government student loans program is not. The main reason for this is that the funding is coming directly from the government. The funding is meant to mitigate the amount of tax a student has to pay in order to ease the financial burden while in school. This is also why government loans don’t have to be repaid until school is completed. 

Provincial Student Loan Funding

While we’ve already mentioned there are government and provincial/territorial grants and loans, we haven’t gone over which provinces offer which funding. We also haven’t mentioned which provinces offer funding and which don’t. Whether they do or don’t, you still need to apply through your province. Here’s how you apply for student financing programs for each province. 

Government Student Loans vs Osap

When it comes to getting a student loan in Canada, there are federal and provincial portions of student aids. Each province has their own rules that are different from federal loans and grants. In Canada, all federal student loans are based on the prime rate and in some cases can be interest free. OSAP loans are prime plus 1%. 

When it comes to government student loans, it’s important to note that repayment of the loan is start 6 months after you’ve completed school. With OSAP loans, This is the case for OSAP as well but there will be no interest charged during your 6 month grace period. 

No matter which loan you have though, once it’s time to repay Canada GSL’s, you can do so by making a repayment assistance plan. Most provincial programs offer repayment assistance programs as well. These programs allow you to set up a monthly payment plan that works for you. These monthly payments keep you in good standing on your loan while paying down your balance. You can also seek repayment assistance if you’re unable to make your monthly payments and arrangements can be made. 

Other Student Aids in Canada

Canada government student loans aren’t the only way to get funding to further your post secondary education. Another important factor to consider when choosing where to apply for funding, is the type of education that you’re considering and what institution you’re considering attending. Let’s take a look at a few alternatives. 

Canada Apprentice Loan

The Canada Apprentice Loan is program that was created by the government of Canada. This program allows you access to funding to help you complete your apprenticeship in a designated Red Seal Trade. 

With this loan, you can get up to $4,000 during each period of training. While this funding is a loan, it’s interest free and meant to cover the expenses of things like tools, tuition, living expenses, and other costs of living while you’re training. Repayments don’t need to happen until you’ve completed your training. 

This loan is available in all provinces and territories except for Quebec who offers their own program. It’s simple to apply for and can be down directly on the CRA website. 

There’s also the Althete Assistance Program to help athletes focus on their training and keeping up with their finances. It’s important to remember that this isn’t just for students though, it’s also available to working athletes. 

Canada Graduate Scholarships

If you’re looking into getting your masters degree then the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council has scholarships available. These scholarships can got up to $17,500 for 12 months. Applications’ open in August or September and are open until December 1. 

In order to qualify for this scholarship there are a few conditions that you need to meet. The main requirements are:

• Your must be canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons
• Are enrolled or will be enrolled in a school with a CGS M association
• Havent held or dont currently hold a NSERC scholarship

Funding from Canadian Institutions

In Canada, there are plenty of Canadian institutions that offer there own funding. These don’t just apply to traditional universities either. You can get Royal Military College Scholarships through the Royal Military College. These scholarships are avaialble to those who have previously attended RMC as well. There are plenty of different choices. 

Some other places to get funding are through the International Development Research Centre or for Canadian Securities Courses through the Canadian Securities Institute. Depending on your eligibility, there are plenty of different forms of funding to help you complete the education that you need. 

Overview

If post secondary education is in your future, then a good place to start to secure the funding you need is by applying for loans, grants and scholarships. The first place most students start is by applying through their province or territory of residence. When it comes to provincial funding though, half of the funding actually comes from the Canadian federal government. 

The thing about this student funding program is that once you apply, you’re considered for both grant funding and loan funding. Once you’ve received an approval, you can choose to accept or deny the funding. If government student funding isn’t right for you, there are plenty of different funding options available to you depending on your financial situation and type of education you’re choosing to pursue.