Supreme Court of Canada clarifies treatment of student loan debt under bankruptcy law

By Canadian Press on April 17, 2025.

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says a person must wait seven years after completely finishing their post-secondary studies before they may be released from student loan debt under the federal bankruptcy law.

The top court’s decision comes today in the case of a woman who received government student loans in the course of three university programs from 1987 to 2003.

She later returned to school and earned a master’s degree in 2009 without the help of additional student loans.

In 2013, she made a consumer proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, an alternative to bankruptcy that allows for payment of a portion of money owed, or payment over an extended period.

Under the bankruptcy law, a person may be released from their student loan debt seven years after they cease to be a full- or part-time student.

In 2019, the woman unsuccessfully argued that she was no longer a student for the purposes of the law as of 2003, when she completed her last period of study funded by a government student loan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press