Several students worried about cuts coming to provincial student funding joined London’s NDP MPP’s Monday night at Western University to voice their concerns.
This comes after the Ontario government announced Feb. 12 that cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) will be coming in the fall.
The government said Ontario students will only be eligible for a maximum of 25 per cent of OSAP money as grants, and a minimum of 75 per cent of that money as loans.
Many students at Western are concerned cuts to OSAP grant money will result in them taking on more debt.
PhD student Elliot Cooper speaks to XFM News March 2, 2026. (Hayden King/XFM News)
“As a PhD student, I will be funded with a stipend that will be able to cover some of my tuition, but it’s going to eat into what I’m able to afford for living expenses,” said Elliot Cooper, an adult graduate of Western who may return this fall.
Cooper was one of many students who attended an emergency town hall meeting, hosted by MPPs Terence Kernaghan, Peggy Sattler and Teresa Armstrong, to hear students’ concerns directly.
Armstrong told the crowd during her remarks that the government is treating education like a business.
“This is not Doug Ford’s label company, this is the ‘public owns public’ education,” she said.
Following remarks from the MPPs, students were able to use the open floor to voice their concerns, including many who were worried about how they would pay back their loan when they graduate.
“I’m really scared that after graduating if I’m going to be able to find a job,” said Zayah Samad, who is one of the student leaders with the “Save OSAP London” initiative.
Student leader, Jerry Peng, leads the protest at Victoria Park Feb. 28. 2026. (Laura Carlit/XFM News)
The initiative organized two protests over the weekend, where students gathered to protest the changes made to OSAP funding.
“We are going to continue to mobilize, to organize and to push back against these changes and get these OSAP cuts reversed,” said Sattler.
Students at most Ontario high schools, including A.B. Lucas Secondary School, are staging walk-outs within the weeks to come.
