This week’s federal budget quietly cut the support offered by the Canada Student Grant program, which is designed to support low-income and marginalized students, from a maximum of $6,000 per year to $4,200 per year.

However, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland used creative math and confusing language to present the cut as a $1,200 “increase” in support for struggling students.

Buried in the 2023 Budget, the federal government indicates it is cutting the Canada Student Grant from $6,000 per year to $3,000 per year, but also simultaneously offering an “enhancement” of $1,200.

In other words, after cutting the grant from $6,000 to $3,000 and adding $1,200, the grant now works out to $4,200 – or, an effective cut of $1,800 per year from what students had been receiving since 2020:

“When COVID-19 disrupted students’ lives, the federal government responded by doubling Canada Student Grants — income-tested support that hardworking, ambitious young people receive when the cost of going to school is out of reach for them and their parents. This meant students could receive up to $6,000 in up-front, non-repayable aid each school year, for three years starting in the 2020-21 school year. This support is currently set to expire on July 31, 2023. But with life costing more and with students still in need of support to afford an education, the government knows it is important that students can afford to pursue their dreams.”

Despite cutting Canada Student Grants by $1,800 per year, the budget describes the cut as “increasing Canada Student Grants by 40 per cent – providing up to $4,200 for full-time students.”

Elsewhere, the “fiscally responsible” Budget promises to find cuts to other programs by 2026.

Specifically, The budget resolves to“reduce government spending by $7 billion over four years, starting in 2024-25, and $2.4 billion ongoing,” and “work with federal Crown corporations to ensure they achieve comparable spending reductions.”

All told, the budget plans for total cuts of $14.5 billion in public spending.