Free room and board? 60% of Canadian parents to offer it during post-secondary
Global News
New data shows that nearly 60 per cent of Canadian parents plan to offer free room and board to their children during their post-secondary studies amid the cost of living crunch.
New data shows that almost 60 per cent of Canadian parents plan to offer “free room and board” to their children in post-secondary education, which comes amid the cost of living crunch.
The 2025 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning from Statistics Canada “gathered information from parents and guardians on the strategies they use to prepare for their children’s post-secondary education, their plans for financing schooling and the barriers to saving for higher education.”
Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of parents and guardians of children under 18 years of age in Canada said they are working to save for their children’s post-secondary education “through registered or other savings vehicles” in 2025, a slight increase from 2020, which sat at 69 per cent.
“It’s more of an eye-opener, just even for parents as to what budgeting needs to look like, what type of conversations they need to have, what type of savings that needs to be done,” said Sumaiya Bhula, senior manager and a product group owner at TD Bank.
The data also shows who may be struggling to save for post-secondary education.
Less than half (44 per cent) of children whose parents had a high school diploma or less had savings set aside for their post-secondary education in 2025.
This proportion increased to 65 per cent among children whose parents had a trades certificate or college diploma and to 79 per cent among children whose parents had a university degree.
In addition to post-secondary education savings, Canadian parents also planned to support their children in other ways.
