Canada

The next few years will bring continued steep increases for post-secondary schooling for most Canadian students and their families. That's the outlook in Tier for Two, a new report from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

If Canada's current government policies and trends continue, warn Erika Shaker and David Macdonald in their new report, Tier for Two, the next 4 years will see an increase of 13% in average undergrad tuition and related fees.

  UPDATED Sptember 2014...

In the last post, I gave up my neutrality and urged Canadian students to just say NO to today's fixed-rate student loans.

Most governments are over-charging to the point where these loans will almost certainly cost you thousands of dollars more than variable (floating-rate) loans.

Fixed-rate student loans normally cost a bit extra because you're getting the security of locking in today's student loan interest rate, so it won’t go up in future.

 
As mentioned in my last blog, Canada’s federal (and most provincial) governments reap a hidden tax from the low and middle-income students who need to borrow student loans. 
 
These governments borrow money at a discount (at least 1% below the ‘prime’ rate). At present, that lets them borrow at 2% or less. Then they charge up to 400% more on student loans.

 
Attention, education bargain-hunters...
 
Let’s do a ‘Best to Worst’ follow up of my blog about Canada’s university fees out-running inflation.
 
As Statistics Canada outlined in that report, undergrad tuition rose this year an average 5%. The regional increases ranged from zero (Newfoundland has frozen rates) to 10.1% in Quebec.