By Amira Benjamin

Students, community advocates and union members returned to Queen’s Park on March 24 to protest the provincial government’s cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

This is the second rally against the changes after hundreds gathered at Queen’s Park on March 4, organized by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O). 

On Feb. 12, the provincial government announced major cuts to the OSAP funding model, as previously reported by The Eyeopener. The proportion of OSAP grant funding will be cut from 85 per cent to 25 per cent, while the loan funding will grow to 75 per cent.

On March 26, the federal government announced it will temporarily extend increases to Canadian Student Financial Assistance grants and loans for the 2026-27 academic year, with a 40 per cent increase to grants.

According to the press release, the federal government can provide up to 60 per cent of a student’s financial aid, while provinces and territories supply the remainder.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered as the Ontario Legislative Assembly returned to session on March 23 for the first time since December. Despite the windy weather, chants of “hands off our education, hands off our campuses” were heard loud and clear.

The protest was also marked by an increased police presence. Cruisers lined University Ave., while officers fenced off the street in front of the Legislative Assembly.

There were fences and tarp coverings around statues of George Brown to prevent vandalization, while police officers created a line with their bikes on the western side of Queen’s Park.

At the March 4 rally, two demonstrators were arrested towards the end of the protest—one was charged with mischief and another with assault of a peace officer, as previously reported by The Eye.

Some high school students in attendance say they are worried about how the OSAP cuts will impact their education in the future.

Rory Laing-Gadehouse, a Grade 12 student at Western Technical-Commercial School, said, “this issue hits close to home.”

“Lots of people at my school need OSAP to pay for their universities. [It’s] bigger than OSAP, everyone’s being affected by Ford’s education cuts. And just overall the way he’s gutting this province for the wealthy at the expense of the struggling,” he said.

Colin Scott, a second-year student in human behaviour at McMaster University, said he was “terrified” when he heard of the cuts to OSAP grants.

“There’s so many people I know who won’t be able to afford their education and follow their dreams,” he said.

Derek Scharf is the parent of a 15-year-old and came to support the action, hoping students’ voices are heard. 

“If [the province needs] to save money, streamline this. Let’s find a better solution rather than just taking [OSAP] away or putting people into a position where [they’ll] be in massive debt,” he said.

Many students at the protest continued to advocate for a province-wide strike, as was heard at a Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) town hall, as previously reported by The Eye. 

Scott volunteered with Students Against Austerity to develop a student strike policy at McMaster Students Union (MSU)’s general assembly, through tabling and outreach efforts. 

“We weren’t expected to meet [the] quorum…but we met that and we were able to force [the McMaster Students Union] to develop a strike policy,” he said.

The strike policy would develop a framework through which MSU could organize and handle negotiations during a strike.

There were also several provincial politicians who spoke to protesting students in front of the Legislative Assembly, including Kristyn Wong-Tam, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto-Centre and member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP).

“This change to OSAP is going to be detrimental to my communities,” they said. “I’m here largely supporting the voices of students…all raising very valid concerns that [Ford’s] OSAP cuts are going to put students into a lifetime of debt.”