Manitoba's student aid shelter allowances to better reflect housing costs

The Manitoba government is taking steps to make housing more affordable for post-secondary students by updating the rate used to determine the student aid shelter allowance.

On Wednesday, Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable announced that beginning next month, shelter allowances will better reflect housing and rental costs.

The province notes that shelter allowances are used to calculate Manitoba Student Aid applicants’ expenses, based on their location and living situation. The information is used to determine the amount of funding provided to recipients.

“We are very happy for this change, we are very thankful for this change,” said Divya Sharma, president of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU).

“It’s clear that this government is focused on helping with housing and students are often not as prioritized when it comes to housing, so we’re really happy to see this particular investment being made in housing to support the students and their needs directly.”

The province notes that starting on Aug. 1, shelter allowances will be aligned with the 2022 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) rental data. To date, they’ve used the 1998 CMHC rental rates and updated them annually based on the Consumer Price Index inflation rate.

“The benefit of it is that students, for the time being, they don’t have to worry about, for example, choosing between getting textbooks and stuff like that or being able to pay for their rent,” said Prabhnoor Singh, vice president of student affairs for UMSU.

“Once they are done with their post-secondary education, they can hopefully secure a good paying job and pay back their student loans over time.”

Manitoba Student Aid provides federal and provincial financial assistance to help with post-secondary education costs. It is available to Manitobans studying in and outside the province.

- With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks.