Students Praise NS Liberal Promise to Eliminate Interest on Provincial Student Loans

For immediate release

Halifax, Nova Scotia – Nova Scotia students strongly support Liberal Party leader Stephen McNeil’s election promise to eliminate interest on provincial student loans.

“Student debt continues to be an issue for many Nova Scotia graduates. It is one of the biggest factors driving our graduates to leave the Province in search of work,” said StudentsNS Executive Director Jonathan Williams. “Eliminating interest on provincial student loans could have a large impact at a relatively low cost. For students who must borrow to pay for their education, this provides peace of mind that they will not get burned by high borrowing costs when they graduate. We have been communicating this priority to the parties for close to a year, and the Liberal Party has clearly been listening.” 

StudentsNS estimates that eliminating interest would reduce the debt costs for over 32,000 Nova Scotians, including approximately 13,000 current students, at a cost of $2.5 million in the first year. This cost would diminish over time as the debt cap becomes fully implemented.

“We asked all parties to make student assistance and debt a priority in this election and we’re pleased to see the Liberals deliver this early promise”, Williams said. “This is a very good start, and we hope all the parties will commit to invest even more to ensure post-secondary in our province is affordable.”

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For more information or questions, please contact:

Jonathan Williams

StudentsNS Executive Director

(O) 902.422.4068

(C) 902.483.5480

(E) director@studentsns.ca

Students Nova Scotia (StudentsNS), formerly the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, is a not-for-profit and non-partisan advocacy group that represents 87% of Nova Scotia university students. Our 37,471 members study at Acadia, Cape Breton, Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s, and St. Francis Xavier Universities and the Atlantic School of Theology.