Minister Marci Ien and MP Kody Blois highlight the Fall Economic Statement's benefits for students at Acadia University

WOLFIVLLE, NS, Nov. 9, 2022 /CNW/ - In the recent 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada highlighted its plan to continue growing the economy and to be there for Canadians. To help families cope with increasing costs, like rising prices at the checkout counter, the Government is delivering targeted support to the Canadians who need it the most, including by: doubling the GST Credit for 11 million eligible Canadians; enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit to support 4.2 million Canadians; and making federal student and apprentice loans permanently interest-free for the graduates of today and tomorrow.

The Government is also moving forward with its comprehensive plan to make housing more affordable, including by helping people save to buy a home and by cracking down on house flipping. And it lays out an ambitious plan to strengthen industry and build a thriving net-zero economy with opportunities and jobs.

Today the Minister for Women and Gender Equity and Youth, Marci Ien, and the Member of Parliament for Kings-Hants, Kody Blois, met with students at Acadia University to highlight how the Government is supporting students. The Fall Economic Statement proposes the elimination of interest on the federal portion of Canada Student Loans and Apprentice Loans. Half of all post-secondary students in Canada rely on student loans to help them afford the cost of tuition and essentials during their studies. An average student loan borrower will save $410 per year as a result of their loan being interest-free.

Other measures introduced to make life more affordable include:

• helping young Canadians afford a down payment faster with the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which will allow prospective first-time home buyers to save up to $40,000 tax-free toward their first home;
• providing advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit to put more money, sooner, into the pockets of our lowest-paid—and often most essential—workers;
• establishing the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit to help families across Canada afford to have a grandparent or a son or daughter with a disability move back in if they need to.

The Canadian economy faces global headwinds from a position of fundamental strength: an unemployment rate near its record low—over 500,000 more Canadians are working today than before the pandemic; the strongest economic growth in the G7 this year; a triple-A credit rating; and the lowest net debt- and deficit-to-GDP ratios in the G7. Canadians should be confident that we will overcome any hurdles and prosper in the days ahead.

Quotes

"The Fall Economic Statement is a fiscally responsible plan to make life more affordable and grow the economy to create good-paying jobs. Canadians can be confident that our government will continue to be there with compassionate, targeted support for the Canadians who need it most. With life becoming more expensive for many recent graduates, the Government is taking new, permanent steps to reduce the burden of student loans on young Canadians so they can invest in building their futures."

– Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

Quick Facts

• The federal government's fiscal anchor—the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits and reducing the federal debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term—remains unchanged. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to continuously decline and is on a steeper downward track than projected in Budget 2022.
• New measures proposed in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement include:

1. Making Life More Affordable:

• Permanently eliminating interest on federal student and apprentice loans;
• Creating a new quarterly Canada Workers Benefit with automatic advance payments to put more money back in the pockets of our lowest-paid workers, sooner;
• Delivering on key pillars of the Government's plan to make housing more affordable, including the creation of a new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, doubling the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit, and ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share; and
• Lowering credit card transaction fees for small business.

2.  Investing in Jobs, Growth, and an Economy that Works for Everyone:

• Launching the new Canada Growth Fund, which will help bring to Canada the billions of dollars in new private investment required to reduce our emissions, grow our economy, and create good jobs;
• Introducing major investment tax credits for clean technologies and clean hydrogen that will help create good jobs and make Canada a leader in the net-zero transition; and incentivizing higher wages for workers by increasing the level of the credit when certain labour protections are met;
• Implementing a new tax on share buybacks by public corporations in Canada; and
• Creating the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre and investing in a new sustainable jobs stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program to equip workers with the skills required for the good jobs of today and the future.

Related Products

2022 Fall Economic Statement 
Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister for the 2022 Fall Economic Statement 
Backgrounder: Making Life More Affordable 
Backgrounder: Making Housing More Affordable 
Backgrounder: Jobs, Growth, and an Economy That Works for Everyone 
Technical Backgrounder: Canada Growth Fund

Associated Links

Annual Financial Report 2021–2022 
Affordability Plan 
Legislation to double the GST Credit for six months receives Royal Assent 
Government of Canada introduces legislation to make life more affordable for Canadians 
Legislation to grow Canadian economy and make life more affordable receives Royal Assent 
Deputy Prime Minister outlines government's Affordability Plan for Canadians

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For media enquiries, please contact: Johise Namwira, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, 873-353-0985, [email protected]; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 819-420-6530, [email protected]