What to know
- Thousands gathered at Queen’s Park for the “Hand Off Our Education Rally,” organized by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, to protest Doug Ford’s recent tuition hike and OSAP changes.
- Students said shifting the Ontario Student Assistance Program toward loans over grants amid a cost-of-living crisis would jeopardize their ability to afford rent, groceries, and continue their education.
- Protesters accused Ford of misrepresenting how students use financial aid, while also criticizing his broader spending decisions and priorities.
- Opposition leaders including Marit Stiles and John Fraser attended the rally, calling on the government to reverse the changes and bring the issue to a legislative vote.
Thousands of people arrived at Queen’s Park on Wednesday afternoon to rally against the recent changes to OSAP and tuition.
Since lifting the tuition freeze and readjusting Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) grants and loans to favour the latter in February, Premier Doug Ford has been under fire, with many saying he doesn’t have the students best interest at heart.
The “Hand Off Our Education Rally” took place at the Queen’s Park Legislative Assembly of Ontario around noon. The event was organized by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFSO), who said in an Instagram post that what Ford was doing was unacceptable.
“The Ford government’s decision to open the floodgates to tuition increases AND the decimation of OSAP will destroy what’s left of education in Ontario,” they said in part. “Enough is enough – it’s time to take to the streets and flex the true power of students in the province.”
Thousands of people attended the rally with signs in hand, with many chanting “Hands off our campuses, OSAP and education.”
In an email to Now Toronto, the Toronto Police Service confirmed two people were arrested around 3:07 p.m.
Twenty two-year-old Rohtansh Saini from Toronto was charged with mischief that caused damage to property totalling under $5,000, while 21-year-old Mason Wallington from Hay River, Northwest Territories, was charged with assaulting a peace officer.
Police did not have a specific number for how many people attended the rally.
On-the-ground reaction to changes
Second-year university student Len Makriyannis was among the crowd and told Now Toronto that the cuts will not only impact her education, but also her career goals.
“I had dreams, and Ford is stripping it away from me,” she said. “I wanted to become a professor, but with these OSAP cuts, it’s stopping me from pursuing something I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid, and it’s heartbreaking because it’s taking away so many opportunities.”
Makriyannis explained that with the current cost of living crisis, these recent cuts were only making things worse.
“OSAP has helped me pay for my rent, helped me buy groceries, pay bills, it’s like a cushion to help me live,” she said. “And not only that, but the rent prices that are going up right now are absolutely astronomical. I had an old unit, and now my old unit’s at $2,700 and it’s the size of a shoe box, so [these cuts are going to] be affecting me significantly.”
Makriyannis had a message directly for Ford, who she believes doesn’t understand the student experience.
“You gotta f**k off, man,” she said. “You do not know the sh*t that we’re going through. You do not know how hard it is already to live as a student in Canada. It is ridiculous that you’re doing this,” she said.
First-year student Jayden Meertins echoed this sentiment, telling Now Toronto Ford was making multiple poor decisions for the city.
“I’ve come out because of the amount of immense corruption that Doug Ford has been doing in terms of housing, with the Greenbelt, with the science center, with the Skills Development Fund,” he said. “There are so many different levels of corruption that we’ve seen going on in this province and continuing and this is just another layer being added on top of everything I’ve listed.”
Meertins added he and a lot of his friends are currently on OSAP, and the current changes will impact their ability to access education and basic necessities.
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“My OSAP goes to transportation and it goes to my housing costs and groceries. That’s the real reality for students across this province,” he said. “It’s very disheartening as a student and for students here, for them to hear that the money that [the government] gives us, [Ford’s] claiming we use it on designer watches and jewelry and clothing, when in reality, we don’t.”
Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party Marit Stiles came out to show her support, and agreed with Meertins, comparing Ford’s spending habits as well.
“When it comes to any of his pet projects, his vanity projects, he suddenly has money growing on trees, right? And he accuses students of misspending OSAP on things that they just simply don’t have,” Stiles said. “He’s making young people look like they’re the bad guys but at the end of the day, this is about choices. He has a choice that he can make, and he’s choosing to spend this on things like luxury spas in downtown Toronto, billions of our dollars, instead of actually supporting young people and their futures.”
John Fraser, Member of Provincial Parliament and interim leader of the Liberal Party, also attended the rally and spoke out against Ford’s decision.
“Doug Ford and the government have to reverse this change. That’s step number one,” he said. “They have to realize that this is an affordability crisis right now, and putting more pressure on students and their families is the wrong thing to do.”
Fraser added this decision not only affects students, but entire families as well.
“I think the government is really underestimating the power of youth and how important this is to people in the middle of an affordability crisis, how putting more burden on students and their families is the wrong thing to do,” Fraser explained.
Stiles said she hopes to make sure the first thing the legislature does is bring the OSAP and tuition changes to a vote during the next sitting day on March 23.
