Trends in student debt of postsecondary graduates in Canada

Release date: August 25, 2020
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Infographic: Trends in student debt of postsecondary graduates in Canada
Description: Trends in student debt of postsecondary graduates in Canada

Trends in student debt of postsecondary graduates in Canada

According to the most recent National Graduates Survey, about half of the postsecondary graduates who completed their education in 2015 had student debt at graduation.


Table 1
Percentage of graduatesNote 1 with student debt at graduation, by level of study, class of 2015
Table summary
This table displays the results of Percentage of graduates with student debt at graduation. The information is grouped by Level of study (appearing as row headers), Percent (appearing as column headers).
Level of study Percent
Total 50
College 48
Bachelor's 53
Master's 46
Doctorate 36
ProfessionalNote 2 85

Table 2
Median student debt at graduation, by level of study, class of 2015
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median student debt at graduation. The information is grouped by Level of study (appearing as row headers), Constant dollars (appearing as column headers).
Level of study Constant dollars
Total 17,496
College 11,467
Bachelor's 20,004
Master's 19,735
Doctorate 25,401
ProfessionalNote 2 60,287

Two thirds of the class of 2015 still had an outstanding debt three years after graduation. The median student debt for those who had not repaid their debt were at least twice as high as for those who had repaid their debt completely in three years.

Despite some differences by education level, factors such as debt size, higher employment income, living in Ontario, family situation (two spouses, no children), and owing money to a bank or to family were generally associated with faster debt repayment.

Source: Gibson, Laura and Diane Galarneau. 2020. “Trends in student debt of postsecondary graduates in Canada: Results from the National Graduates Survey, 2018.” Insights on Canadian Society. August. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-006-X.

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