Student Loans, Grants and Scholarships

Does my Family Qualify as a Low or Middle Income Family?

The Canada Student Grants Program uses two standard measurements of income to determine eligibility for grants for students from low- or middle-income families:

  • Low-Income Threshold: Low-income thresholds are levels below which a family of a given size will devote a larger share of income to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing than that of an average family.
  • Middle-Income Threshold: The middle-income threshold is a measurement of the cost of living that accounts for how much money families of various sizes will need to pay for shelter, food, household operation, child care, furnishings and equipment, clothing, transportation, health and personal care, and other miscellaneous expenses.

To find out if your family qualifies as a low- or middle-income family, have a look at the following tables:

To use these tables:

  1. Select the column for your province or territory of permanent residence.
  2. Select the row for the number of people in your family:
    • If you are a dependent student, this includes you, your parents and any of your siblings who are also dependants.
    • If you are an independent student, this includes you and your spouse and dependent children, if applicable.
  3. Locate the cell where the column selected in step 1 intersects the row selected in step 2.
    • Table A: If your family’s gross income is less than or equal to the number in this cell, your family qualifies as a low-income family.
    • Table B: If your family’s gross income is less than or equal to the number in this cell, your family qualifies as a middle-income family.
Low-Income Thresholds (Table A)
Valid for 2011-2012 Academic Year
Province/Territory Family Size
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
AB 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
BC 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
MB 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
NB 19,495 24,269 29,837 36,226 41,086 46,339 51,591
NL 19,495 24,269 29,837 36,226 41,086 46,339 51,591
NS 19,495 24,269 29,837 36,226 41,086 46,339 51,591
NT 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
NU 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
ON 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
PE 19,375 24,120 29,653 36,003 40,833 46,053 51,274
QC 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
SK 19,495 24,269 29,837 36,226 41,086 46,339 51,591
YT 22,637 28,182 34,647 42,065 47,710 53,808 59,907
Middle-Income Thresholds (Table B)
Valid for 2011-2012 Academic Year
Province/Territory Family Size
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
AB 43,702 61,183 73,333 81,948 88,638 94,099 98,718
BC 39,287 55,003 71,456 83,124 92,174 99,571 105,827
MB 34,980 48,971 61,331 70,100 76,907 82,468 87,168
NB 31,520 44,129 54,761 62,307 68,159 72,939 76,983
NL 31,423 43,993 54,964 63,527 70,165 75,593 80,179
NS 35,853 50,194 62,458 71,154 77,903 83,418 88,080
NT 42,535 59,550 69,990 77,399 83,146 87,848 91,815
NU 42,535 59,550 69,990 77,399 83,146 87,848 91,815
ON 40,937 57,312 71,152 80,971 88,594 94,811 100,078
PE 32,689 45,765 58,181 66,993 73,824 79,408 84,126
QC 35,982 50,375 63,667 73,091 80,411 86,383 91,435
SK 34,605 48,447 60,680 69,354 76,083 81,586 86,233
YT 42,535 59,550 69,990 77,399 83,146 87,848 91,815