By Zanoah Plummer

The Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) has paused new applications for the summer period of its Emergency Student Grants program until further notice.

The pause comes after the union received more than 150 applications from May 15 to 30, the first two weeks after the program opened. In an email to The Eyeopener, the TMSU said this is an “unprecedented jump” in requests compared to the Winter 2026 semester, where 125 applications were received over the entire period.

The program, which is offered by the union each semester, provides grants of up to $500 for students who demonstrate “unexpected financial instability,” according to the union’s website. 

Both the union and student advocacy groups say the surge in applications may be tied to the Ford government’s major changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). The changes, which were announced in February, will lower the maximum amount of grant funding students can receive from 85 per cent to 25 per cent. The program’s remaining financial aid will come in the form of loans.

Although Ford’s changes will not take effect until the fall semester, the TMSU says the change may already be impacting students’ financial stress. 

“The pressure of needing to take greater student loans will undoubtedly worsen, in combination with the already-overwhelming unaffordability of campus life in Toronto,” they wrote in an email to The Eye. 

“We fully expect to see an increase in Emergency Grant applications beginning in the Fall semester due to this financial squeeze.”

The TMSU has not announced when applications will reopen, but told The Eye they anticipate all May applications will be processed by early July. Remaining applicants for Spring 2026 emergency funding will receive an email regarding the status of their application after all applications filed in May have been processed. 

They also confirmed emergency grant applications will be open for the fall and winter semesters as usual.

“With increasing tuition and living costs worsening students’ risk of experiencing sudden financial emergencies, we expect the need for Emergency Grants to rise each semester and are working to adjust the program to meet a likely increase in demand,” the TMSU said in an email.

In a statement to The Eye, the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario (CFS–O) said students’ unions across the province are reporting growing financial pressures among students, but emergency funding—like the TMSU’s Emergency Student Grants—isn’t designed to replace traditional financial assistance.

“When emergency supports become a routine mechanism for helping students afford basic educational costs, it highlights deeper structural issues within Ontario’s post-secondary funding model rather than isolated financial emergencies,” they wrote.

CFS–O also said other student unions have expanded access to emergency bursaries, food services and other support systems in response to growing demand for their services. However, they do not believe this is a viable long-term solution to student financial problems.

Trudy Kuropatwa Trent, a fourth-year production and design student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and member of the Student Mobilization Committee, said she anticipates the changes to OSAP will have lasting effects.

“Beyond being upset and angry about it, this is something that follows you for such a long time. Going from 85 per cent grants to 75 per cent loans, we’re going to be challenged with that for decades,” she said. 

“We’re going through a cost-of-living crisis, a really high youth unemployment rate. We’re all on the same sinking ship. And that, of course, is going to impact your mental health if you’re having this anchor of debt around you.”

The TMSU urged students in need of financial aid to seek out other avenues while applications are closed, such as the Ontario government’s social assistance programs or TMU’s Student Awards and Scholarships, which distributes emergency bursaries through the fall and winter semesters.