Several students worried about cuts coming to provincial student funding joined London’s NDP politicians 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.
Under the changes starting this fall, 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 – reversing the current formula which offers students up to 85 per cent in grants.
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, a graduate of Western who may return this fall.
Cooper was one of many students who attended the meeting, hosted by London NDP members of provincial parliament Terence Kernaghan, Peggy Sattler and Teresa Armstrong, to hear students’ concerns directly.
“This is not Doug Ford’s label company, this is the ‘public owns public’ education,” Armstrong said.
Following remarks from the MPPs, many students spoke to the room about how worried they were about not being able to pay back their loans after they graduate.
“I’m really scared that after graduating if I’m going to be able to find a job,” said Zayah Samad, a student leader 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.
