Canada Learning Bond: How It Works and Who Qualifies

The Canada Learning Bond is a federal grant of up to $2,000 deposited into a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for children from lower-income families, with no requirement that the family contribute any of their own money. Children born on or after January 1, 2004 qualify if their primary caregiver’s adjusted income falls below an annually updated threshold, and unclaimed years can be collected retroactively once an RESP is opened. Starting in April 2028, the federal government will begin opening RESPs automatically for eligible children who don’t already have one.

Who Qualifies

Three conditions apply to the child: born on or after January 1, 2004, resident in Canada, and holding a valid Social Insurance Number.¹ On the family side, the primary caregiver must be eligible to receive the Canada Child Benefit, and adjusted income must sit at or below the threshold for the household size.²

For the benefit year running July 2025 through June 2026, the income limits are:

1 to 3 children: adjusted income at or below $57,375
4 children: below $64,733
5 children: below $72,123
6 children: below $79,514
7 children: below $86,904
8 children: below $94,294
9 children: below $101,685
10 or more: thresholds continue climbing by roughly $7,390 per additional child

These figures come from the government’s official notice for RESP promoters.³ Eligibility is reassessed each year against the caregiver’s tax return. A family that qualifies one year but not the next simply skips that year’s payment and can resume when income drops again.

How Much the Bond Pays

The bond starts with a $500 deposit for the first year of eligibility. After that, the government adds $100 for each additional year the child stays eligible, up to and including the year the child turns 15. The lifetime maximum is $2,000 per child.⁴

No personal contribution is required. The bond is paid on eligibility alone, and it earns investment growth inside the RESP even if the caregiver never adds a dollar.⁴

Families that can put in even a small amount pick up more. The Additional Canada Education Savings Grant adds 20% on the first $500 contributed each year for families with adjusted income at or below $57,375, worth up to $100 per year on top of the bond.⁵ Families who can’t contribute still receive the full bond.

How to Apply

Until automatic enrollment begins in 2028, a caregiver has to open an RESP at a participating financial institution. The RESP is the holding account the government pays into. Most major banks, credit unions, and scholarship plan dealers act as RESP promoters. The government publishes a full list of 76 promoters that currently offer the bond.⁶

Some promoters require personal contributions or charge maintenance fees on their own plans even though the bond itself asks for neither. Ask directly whether you can open the RESP and receive the bond without depositing your own money.

The steps are straightforward:

Gather a valid SIN for both the child and the primary caregiver. Names on the application must match SIN documentation exactly.
Open the RESP with a promoter, in person or online. During setup the promoter provides the combined application form for the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond.
The primary caregiver signs to authorize the government to share income information with the promoter.
The promoter submits the form electronically to Employment and Social Development Canada. Applicants don’t send it in themselves.⁷

Once the government confirms eligibility, the initial $500 is deposited. In later years, ESDC checks the caregiver’s tax return automatically and deposits the $100 annual installment if the family still qualifies.

Automatic Enrollment in April 2028

Beginning in April 2028, the government will open an RESP and deposit the bond automatically for children who meet all of these conditions:

Born in 2024 or later
Hold a valid SIN
Not already named as an RESP beneficiary by age 4
Family income at or below the CLB threshold

The caregiver must still have filed tax returns and be eligible for the Canada Child Benefit. Families who receive a confirmation letter don’t need to take further action.²

You can still open your own RESP at a financial institution instead. The bond is paid into only one RESP per child, so an existing plan won’t be duplicated by a government-opened one.² Opening your own plan gives you more control over investment options and lets you add contributions. For children born before January 1, 2024 who remain eligible, starting in 2028 you can also ask the government to open an RESP on the child’s behalf rather than going through a financial institution.

Claiming Past Years

The bond is fully retroactive. If a child was eligible in earlier years but no RESP existed, all accumulated amounts are paid once the RESP is opened and the application is processed. A child eligible from birth whose caregiver first opens an RESP at age 10 would receive the $500 initial payment plus $100 for each additional eligible year, in a lump sum.⁸

One condition: the caregiver must have filed income tax returns for each year they want to claim. Without a return, the government has no way to verify eligibility for that year and won’t pay. Filing late returns fixes the gap, so catching up before applying is worth the effort.

Deadlines depend on who applies:

A primary caregiver can request the bond for an eligible child until the day before the child turns 18.⁸
Once the beneficiary turns 18, they can apply on their own behalf until the day before they turn 21.⁹

The age-21 cutoff is firm.

Applying as an Adult

Young adults between 18 and 20 can open an RESP in their own name, name themselves as beneficiary, and apply directly. The application uses a form designed for adult beneficiaries, available from any participating promoter.⁷ A few rules apply:

The RESP must have only one beneficiary, or if it has more than one, they must all be siblings.
The bond cannot be paid if it was already requested in another RESP for the same person.
If the applicant’s former primary caregiver never applied for the Canada Child Benefit during the years of eligibility, the bond cannot be paid until that caregiver applies for the CCB retroactively.

The applicant provides SIN, date of birth, and signature. If someone else is the RESP subscriber, that subscriber completes a separate consent section.⁷

What the Money Can Be Used For

Bond funds held inside an RESP can go toward full-time or part-time studies at universities, colleges, CEGEPs, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs. Eligible expenses aren’t limited to tuition. Books, tools, transportation, rent, internet, and groceries during enrollment all count.¹⁰

When the student is ready to draw funds, the promoter issues an Educational Assistance Payment. For full-time students, there is an $8,000 limit on these payments during the first 13 consecutive weeks of enrollment. After that, no cap applies as long as the student continues to qualify.¹¹ The $8,000 limit resets if the student takes a break of 12 months or more without being enrolled for 13 consecutive weeks. Educational Assistance Payments count as taxable income to the student in the year received, though most full-time students owe little or nothing on them once the basic personal amount and tuition credits are applied.¹²

If the Child Doesn’t Attend School

If the beneficiary never enrolls in a qualifying post-secondary program, the bond is returned to the government. It cannot be redirected to a non-educational purpose.⁴ Any personal contributions the subscriber made are returned tax-free. An RESP can stay open for up to 35 years from the date it was opened, or 40 years if the beneficiary qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit, so there is time to see whether the beneficiary eventually pursues post-secondary education.¹³

Children and Youth in Care

Children in the care of a child welfare agency or other public authority also qualify if they were born in 2004 or later and a public primary caregiver receives the Children’s Special Allowance on their behalf.¹⁴ A designated employee within the care organization opens the RESP and applies for the bond. No personal contributions are required.

The child needs a SIN before the RESP can be opened. Care organizations can use the Verified Partners Portal for Children Services to submit SIN requests for children under their guardianship.¹⁴ The employee requesting the SIN must supply the child’s original birth certificate, their own valid photo identification, a document confirming their legal authority over the child issued by a provincial or territorial authority, and a letter of authorization from the care organization’s director on official letterhead.

Young adults who aged out of care at 18 can still apply on their own behalf before turning 21, using the adult application described above. Because RESPs often go unopened for children in care, this window matters for former youth in care collecting bond payments they are owed.

1
Justice Laws Website. Canada Education Savings Act – Section 6
2
Government of Canada. Canada Learning Bond – Automatic Enrolment
3
Employment and Social Development Canada. Notice 1095 – Revised Income Brackets for the Canada Learning Bond for the July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 Benefit Year
4
Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Learning Bond
5
Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG)
6
Employment and Social Development Canada. List of RESP Promoters
7
Employment and Social Development Canada. Canada Learning Bond (CLB) Application for Adult Beneficiaries
8
Government of Canada. How Much Money Benefits Could Add to the Registered Education Savings Plan
9
Government of Canada. Canada Learning Bond Brochure for 18 to 20 Year Olds
10
Canada.ca. Canada Learning Bond – Community Partner Resources
11
Canada Revenue Agency. Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) Bulletin No. 1R3
12
Canada Revenue Agency. Payments from a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
13
Government of Canada. Managing the Registered Education Savings Plan, Taxes and Transfers
14
Government of Canada. Education Savings Benefits for Children and Youth in Care