Canada Student Loan forgiveness for family doctors and nurses
Overview
The Government of Canada offers Canada Student Loan forgiveness to eligible family doctors, residents in family medicine, nurse practitioners, and nurses who work in under-served rural or remote communities that lack the primary health care they need. This change will help more Canadians get the health care they deserve.
Loan forgiveness can only be applied to outstanding Canada Student Loan balances. Canada Student Loans that have been converted to a line of credit, private loan, or an Ontario Medical Resident Loan, are not eligible for loan forgiveness.
Canada Student Loan forgiveness applies only to the federal portion of a student loan. It does not apply to the provincial or territorial portion of a student loan.
Note: You may be eligible for loan forgiveness on your Saskatchewan student loans. The Government of Saskatchewan offers loan forgiveness for nurses and nurse practitioners working in rural and remote communities.
Eligibility
You can apply for loan forgiveness while you are in study. You can also apply if you are in repayment or in your 6 month non-repayment period.
To be eligible for Canada Student Loan forgiveness you must:
have started your employment as a medical professional (full-time, part-time or casual) in an eligible community, on or after July 1, 2011
have been employed for a full year and provided in-person services for a minimum of 400 hours in an eligible community (does not apply to residents in family medicine)
have a Canada Student Loan that is in good standing
Note: If you are repaying your loan, you must continue to make your regular monthly payments.
Eligible medical professionals
family doctor
family medicine resident in training with an accredited medical school in Canada
registered nurse
registered psychiatric nurse
registered practical nurse
licensed practical nurse, or
nurse practitioner
Eligible under-served rural or remote communities
An under-served rural or remote community is one located outside of:
metropolitan areas
areas with an urban core population of 50 000 or more, and
provincial capitals
Verify if a community is designated by using our postal code lookup tool.
Note: You can work in multiple rural or remote communities during the year. You must however, complete at least 400 hours total of in-person service over the 12-month period. As long as you continue to work in an eligible rural or remote community, you may work for multiple employers.
How much you could receive
Over a maximum of 5 years, you could receive up to:
$60,000 for family doctors or residents in family medicine
Year 1: $8,000
Year 2: $10,000
Year 3: $12,000
Year 4: $14,000
Year 5: $16,000
$30,000 for nurses or nurse practitioners
Year 1: $4,000
Year 2: $5,000
Year 3: $6,000
Year 4: $7,000
Year 5: $8,000
Note: Loan forgiveness will apply to your outstanding loan principal balance after the end of your 12 months of service. You will have to keep making regular payments.
Your 5 years of service do not have to be consecutive. If you have a Canada Student Loan balance at the end of each year of service in an eligible community, you can qualify for loan forgiveness for 5 years.
Apply
Once you have completed a year of service in an eligible community, you have 90 days to apply for loan forgiveness.
To apply, submit a:
Canada Student Loan Forgiveness for Family Doctors and Nurses Application (PDF format, 123 KB), and
Canada Student Loan Forgiveness for Family Doctors and Nurses Attestation (PDF format, 89 KB)
Note: To stay eligible, you must re-apply every year. A reminder letter will be sent to you each year as long as the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program records show that you may be eligible.
Once your application is approved, your Canada Student Loan balance will be reduced. Your monthly payments will also be reduced unless you opt out on your application form.
You can make changes to your monthly payments at any time. For more information, please see what payment options you may have.