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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 2010-2011 Academic Year

Province/Territory Family Size
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
AB 22,436 27,932 34,338 41,691 47,286 53,329 59,374
BC 22,229 27,674 34,022 41,306 46,850 52,838 58,827
MB 22,241 27,689 34,040 41,329 46,875 52,866 58,859
NB 19,144 23,832 29,299 35,573 40,345 45,504 50,662
NL 19,266 23,984 29,485 35,800 40,603 45,794 50,985
NS 19,322 24,053 29,571 35,904 40,721 45,927 51,133
NT 22,229 27,674 34,022 41,306 46,850 52,838 58,827
NU 22,229 27,674 34,022 41,306 46,850 52,838 58,827
ON 22,241 27,689 34,040 41,329 46,875 52,866 58,859
PE 19,295 24,021 29,531 35,855 40,665 45,865 51,063
QC 22,229 27,674 34,022 41,306 46,850 52,838 58,827
SK 19,285 24,007 29,514 35,835 40,642 45,839 51,035
YT 22,229 27,674 34,022 41,306 46,850 52,838 58,827

 Middle-Income Thresholds (Table B) - Valid for 2010-2011 Academic Year

Province/Territory Family Size
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
AB 42,802 59,923 71,822 80,260 86,812 92,160 96,684
BC 38,478 53,870 69,984 81,412 90,275 97,520 103,647
MB 34,470 48,258 60,439 69,080 75,788 81,268 85,899
NB 30,953 43,335 53,775 61,185 66,931 71,626 75,597
NL 30,857 43,200 53,973 62,381 68,901 74,230 78,733
NS 35,114 49,160 61,171 69,688 76,298 81,700 86,265
NT 41,912 58,677 68,965 76,266 81,928 86,561 90,470
NU 42,489 59,485 69,914 77,316 83,056 87,753 91,716
ON 40,235 56,329 69,932 79,583 87,075 93,186 98,362
PE 32,016 44,822 56,982 65,613 72,303 77,772 82,393
QC 35,460 49,644 62,743 72,029 79,243 85,128 90,107
SK 34,243 47,941 60,045 68,628 75,288 80,733 85,331
YT 41,806 58,528 68,790 76,073 81,720 86,342 90,241