Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s changes to university and college tuition will mean that higher-income people will pay less for post-secondary education overall, while middle-income and lower-income people will see their costs go up, according to a new analysis.
Strangely, the federal government is also a financial winner, the analysis found, as it will mean Ottawa will be reducing its spending on Ontario students by $99 per head, on average.
In
a report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), economists from Wilfrid Laurier University estimated that the changes will mean that students from households earning around $130,000 a year or more will see a reduction in schooling costs, while those below that income level will see an increase ― especially those just below that income level.
For a student whose parental or household income is $40,000 a year, and who is an only child living at home, the changes will amount to $800 more in costs per year. For those whose parents or households earn $100,000 a year, net costs will be up by around $2,200 on average.
But the same student will see a $561 decrease in costs if their parents earn $130,000 a year or more.