Ottawa Expands Student Loan Forgiveness Program to Include Teachers, Pharmacists, Dentists in Rural Communities

A teacher talks with her Grade 3 and 4 students on their first day back after summer break at an elementary school in Montreal on Aug. 29, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Ottawa has expanded its student loan forgiveness program to include several more occupations including dentists, psychologists, early childhood educators, and teachers.

The Canada Student Loan forgiveness benefit was first introduced in 2013, aiming to attract more health-care professionals to rural communities.

The expansion of the program was introduced in Budget 2024 and took effect on Dec. 31, 2025, to include health care and social services jobs, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. These jobs include dentists, dental hygienists, early childhood educators, midwives, personal support workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and teachers.

Previously eligible jobs are still included, such as family doctor, licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, registered psychiatric nurse, registered practical nurse.

The total benefit is estimated to cost $944.1 million over 10 years.

To be eligible, graduates in specific careers must commit to working in a rural community for at least a year before applying for loan forgiveness. A rural community is defined by the program as having less than 30,000 people.

Applicants must also have provided a minimum of 400 hours of service, and their student loan must be “in good standing,” which means loan payments must be up to date.

Ottawa said it expected the changes would help “alleviate the shortages of health care and social services and remote communities.” The government estimates that the program will draw 27,822 professionals from those sectors to smaller communities over a 10-year period.

Applicants must have the proper licence for their occupation, and it must be approved by the authority in the community they work in, the guidelines say.

Those working as early childhood educators, dental hygienists, and personal support workers can qualify for up to $15,000 of loan forgiveness over a five-year period.

Nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered/licensed practical nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, midwives, teachers, social workers, and physiotherapists can qualify for up to $30,000 over the five-year period.

The government offers up to $60,000 in loan forgiveness for family doctors and family medicine residents, dentists, psychologists, and pharmacists.

The loan forgiveness only applies to outstanding federal student loans, not provincial or territorial portions. The loan forgiveness does not apply to loans that have been converted to a line of credit, private loans, or Ontario medical resident loans.

The government said the original program was successful in attracting health-care professionals to some communities.

“While the loan forgiveness benefit has helped many of these communities across Canada with the recruitment and retention of these essential workers, it does not address the lack of access to other important health care and social service professionals that these communities face,” said a Feb. 15, 2025, notice published in the Canada Gazette.