Parliament Hill (Saffron Blaze / Wiki Commons)

In the fall economic statement, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced $30.6 billion in new spending. As a part of the statement, Ottawa outlined a plan to eliminate interest on student loans. The plan will apply to all federal student and apprentice loans, including loans currently being paid. The plan does not cover provincial loans, so your BC student loans will still have interest.

In an article announcing the plan, CTV compiled the following statistics:

More than 1.8 million Canadian students owe the federal government a total of $20.5 billion, based on 2019 data from the Government of Canada website, with the average loan balance at about $13,367 at the time of leaving school.
The average undergraduate tuition fee is $6,482 for an academic year as of 2022, according to Statistics Canada, while the average graduate tuition fee is $7,053 as of 2022.

The plan to eliminate student loans takes effect on April 1st, 2023 and is estimated to save students an average of $410 per year.

More information on the budget:
Freeland’s mini-budget waives interest on student loans, sends more money to low-income workers