The numbers don't lie: The struggle is real for Gen Z students

On a sunny September afternoon, Rose Landry sits on a rock in a shady area of campus, eating her lunch out of a jar.

The third-year English and history student at Saint Mary's University in Halifax says she rarely strays from campus, but not really by choice.

"I don't leave campus because I can't afford to do anything off campus," Landry says. "I don't do anything except for school."

The Peterborough, Ont., native is tightly focused on her finances — and her academics, because she knows if her grades drop, she'll lose her scholarship, which pays for a sizable chunk of her yearly tuition.

"I'm desperately clinging to my scholarship," she says. "I wouldn't be able to go if I didn't have a scholarship…. I'd have to drop out."

There's a persistent drumbeat that drives the rhythm of Landry's semester: money.

And she is far from alone.

Post-secondary students are in a crucible of pressure, facing high tuition costs, high unemployment rates, skyrocketing rent and ballooning prices on pretty much everything.

But are today's post-secondary students worse off than previous generations? Is getting an education while making ends meet more difficult now than it was 10, 25 or 50 years ago?

In Canada, tuition has risen steadily since the late 1970s, except for a blip in 2019, when Ontario reduced and then froze tuition fees. Average undergraduate tuition is now at its highest point ever, reaching $7,734 on average for Canadian students in 2025-26.

But students in some provinces pay much more than that, with those in Nova Scotia leading the pack. They pay on average $9,988 per year, with New Brunswick a close second at $9,938, and Saskatchewan third, at $9,863.

And it's not just inflation that's driving up tuition. In fact, average Canadian tuition fees are about double what they would be if tuition rates grew proportionally with inflation. In Nova Scotia, they're triple.

Government funding of post-secondary institutions has declined in recent years, pushing universities to rely more on tuition fees to make up the shortfall.

In order to pay for tuition, students who are unable to rely on scholarships or financial support from family turn to a mix of employment and student loans.