Students are feeling the crunch as they prepare for another school year as higher tuition fees, increased living costs, a lagging job market and inflation on everyday purchases take their toll.

Almost half of students are worried about their ability to pay all their expenses for the coming school year, according to a

recent poll from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

.

The average tuition for a Canadian undergraduate program was $7,360 last year, up from $6,580 five years ago,

according to Statistics Canada

.

As a result, many students are using multiple funding sources to meet the financial demands of schooling, with 78 per cent of them getting a job during the school year and 53 per cent getting student loans.

But 48 per cent of respondents are worried that they are relying too much on their parents for financial support.

“Students across Canada are navigating significant financial challenges, from the rising cost of living to unique student-related expenses,” Frank Psoras, executive vice-president of personal banking products and payments at CIBC, said in a release. “Many students are responding by finding additional sources of income and adopting effective budgeting strategies, such as creating a detailed budget and reducing non-essential spending.”

Some students are employing strategies to keep their finances afloat, with 55 per cent using a budget, 49 per cent cutting back on non-essential purchases and 35 per cent applying for scholarships.

Students in Canada have faced a challenging summer job market. Employment among those aged 15 to 24 fell to 53.6 per cent in July,

according to Statistics Canada,

the lowest since November 1998, excluding the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 years.

In July, the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto said a record 54,000 people applied for the 5,000 jobs at the annual fair, up from 37,000 people last year.

Overall, postings for summer jobs this year had fallen 22 per cent compared to 2024, according to a report in May by Indeed Hiring Lab.

That, combined with high tuition and living costs, has students saddled with debt. The average bachelor’s degree student graduated with $30,600 in debt in 2020, while college graduates faced $16,700 in debt, according to

Statistics Canada

‘s most recent data.

The good news is that students may be getting a bit of a break on rent, as average rental prices in Canada dropped 3.7 per cent in August compared to a year ago, with Saskatchewan emerging as the only region where rent climbed,

according to Rentals.ca

.

With files from the Financial Post’s Jane Switzer

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As Prime Minister Mark Carney negotiates a trade deal with U.S. president Donald Trump, few Canadians believe Trump will keep his word if a deal is reached anyways.

About 80 per cent of Canadians are skeptical Trump will honour a negotiated trade deal,

according to a poll by Nanos Research Group conducted for Bloomberg News.

Trump signed off on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) during his first term, but has imposed steep tariffs against Canada to a renegotiation of the deal.

Trump hiked tariffs to non-CUSMA protected imports from Canada to 25 per cent on Aug. 1.

Read more here.

  • Jackson Hole economic policy symposium continues
  • Today’s Data: Retail sales for June

 

  • VW’s PowerCo awards two contracts as it moves closer to building St. Thomas EV battery plant
  • AI or die: Canada’s existential moment in the age of augmented intelligence
  • When does passive ETF investing not trump actively managed funds?
  • Tips to help the student in your life graduate without mountains of debt

As mentioned, today’s students are facing a mountain of debt, but there are ways for parents to help. Government loans come with perks such as interest relief and repayment assistance programs, but eligibility can vary.  Scholarships can go a long way toward making school more affordable and many scholarships go unclaimed. Plus there are some money-saving strategies, such as buying used books, taking transit and living with parents.

Read more here. 

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@postmedia.com with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we’ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we’ll keep your name out of it, of course).

McLister on mortgages

Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s

Financial Post column

can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Plus check his

mortgage rate page

for Canada’s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily.

Financial Post on YouTube

Visit the Financial Post’s

YouTube channel

for interviews with Canada’s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more.

Today’s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at 

posthaste@postmedia.com

.

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