TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to cut back on the amount of financial assistance for post-secondary students.

Ford says he heard from thousands of students over Family Day weekend who were angry about the drastic cut to the number of grants given out.

Starting this fall, the Ontario Student Assistance Program will lean more heavily on loans as opposed to grants, which are not repaid and are given out on a needs basis.

The current proportion is about 85 per cent grants to 15 per cent loans, the government said, but this fall students will receive a maximum of 25 per cent of their OSAP funding as grants.

Ford says he fought the good fight for students by cutting college and university tuition in 2019 and freezing it there, but made the change because it was not sustainable.

Ontario recently announced it will lift that tuition freeze, but cap increases at two per cent per year or the rate of inflation if it is lower than two per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press