The Canada Learning Bond is free money that the Government of Canada deposits into a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help you save for your child's education after high school. The total amount of the deposits can be up to $2,000. Applying for and receiving the Canada Learning Bond will not affect any other benefits that you or your child receives.
To be eligible for the CLB, your child must be from lower-income family and:
For the years prior to 2016 a child was eligible if the parent was receiving National Child Benefit Supplement. For recent years the eligibility is based on the number of children and the family income. The following table lists the approximate family income levels for 2017 and 2018:
| No. of children | Adjusted net family income |
1 to 3 |
Up to $45,916 |
4 |
Up to $51,809 |
5 |
Up to $57,724 |
There is up to $2,000 available to your child, including:
You don't need to contribute any money to get the Canada Learning Bond.
The Canada Learning Bond doesn’t affect any government benefits received. The money is exempt as assets, exempt as income. The account will be in your child's name. Your child will be named as the beneficiary of the RESP plan, you will be named the subscriber. The money will gain interest until they are withdrawn. To access the funds when your child goes to postsecondary, all you need is to show the proof of enrolment and the funds are released to your child.
The easiest and fastest way is to apply online. It takes about 10 minutes to complete the SmartSaver application. Instruction is available in several languages. You will be given a choice of the financial institution you like to work with. Within two weeks you will be contacted to make a short appointment in the bank to finalize the process. You don't need to provide SIN numbers during the online application stage, just make them available for the appointment at the bank. Please use the following link:
Another choice is to visit a local bank and speak with an RESP specialist. Not every branch offers the Canada Learning Bond accounts, so if the first bank is not helping, please visit another one. There are information sheets for specific financial institutions at the bottom of the page, please print one and take along with you when going to the bank. You may also download it to your cellphone.
The Canada Learning Bond is retroactive. Once you apply, the government will review all previous tax years and if your child qualified in any of the years in the past, the corresponding amount of funds will be deposited into the RESP account. For example, based on income and number of children, your child qualified in 6 out of 8 years. The amount deposited will be $600 (6 years x $100 each year) plus $500 for the first year your child qualified, $1,100 in total.
Please keep your income taxes up to date, otherwise the government has no way of knowing if you qualify for any of the programs or not.
CLB is free, you don't need to contribute any money to receive it. CESG is a government top up to your own contributions. Regardless whether the money comes from CLB, CESG or your own contributions, it grows inside an RESP account registered in your child's name.
Please visit following link to learn more about CLB program.
Print information sheet for the bank you want to visit, or download it to your cellphone.
Use the following link to start the online application process: