Two jobs, rising bills: Saskatoon students face university affordability crunch

1 / 1 Angela Quito, centre, shares her experience dealing with affordability issues as a student, while fellow student Brooke Barber, left, and Saskatchewan NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat look on. Jon Perez Advertisement

SASKATOON, Sask. -- University of Saskatchewan students Brooke Barber and Angelica Quito said the rising cost of living is making it increasingly difficult for students like them to balance their education with the financial demands of everyday life, with some struggling to afford food, rent, transportation and textbooks.

The two students shared their affordability concerns at a Saskatchewan NDP media event with opposition deputy leader Vicki Mowat on Monday, Nov. 2, describing how financial challenges extend beyond tuition fees and affect their ability to pursue post-secondary education.

The provincial government noted that Barber works as an assistant at Saskatoon Southeast NDP MLA Brittney Senger's constituency office.

The two students said affordability issues have forced them to continue living with their parents as they try to complete their university degrees. While some students continue to rely on family support, part-time employment or community assistance, others have had to reduce their course loads or temporarily leave university because they cannot afford necessities.

Barber said her parents, like other families, are feeling the financial strain of supporting her and her two younger siblings. She helps by working two part-time jobs but continues to live at home because it is the most affordable arrangement while covering her educational expenses.

"There are those familial strains that everyone faces in those situations where we're forced to live in this dual-income household... I still live at home because that's what is most affordable to pay for textbooks, for a lot of students to pay their tuition, to pay rent, to pay for groceries," said Barber, who added that it was more difficult for single-income households.

"I have two younger siblings that are in these high levels of sports, and you want to sustain that because it could get them scholarships, it could give them all these opportunities. But how do you support that and support your older kid who's in university, who needs to eat, who needs textbooks, who needs all of these different resources? We're just not getting the proper support, the proper funding that we need actually to achieve those things."

Quito also lives with her parents and said food insecurity has become more visible among students, particularly through the growing demand for campus food services. She recalled regularly going to a university building that offers soup every two weeks during her first year. At the time, the service was not widely used, but the situation has changed as she enters her third year.

"Now entering my third year, those soup services are getting empty, and the lines are through the doors," Quito said, adding that students' basic needs, particularly access to food, deserve greater attention.

Re-evaluating priorities

Both students said the challenges are also affecting international students, who face higher tuition costs while covering rent, groceries, textbooks and other living expenses. Quito shared stories of international students reaching out to relatives and community members for food assistance, with some struggling to meet their nutritional needs.

Barber added that she has also heard from classmates about the difficulties of managing significantly higher tuition fees alongside everyday expenses. "They're already paying so much more than every other student," she said, noting that the additional costs can make studying in Saskatchewan financially difficult.

Transportation is another concern for students trying to stretch their limited budgets. Barber said some students choose not to buy campus parking passes, which can cost between $550 and nearly $700, and instead use the transit pass included in their tuition.

However, Quito said construction around the university has made public transportation increasingly challenging. She recalled missing classes twice because buses arriving at her stop were already full. Barber added that some students have also struggled with transportation during winter, when getting to campus becomes even more difficult.

Barber said financial pressures have also forced some students to reconsider their academic plans, and she knew classmates who had temporarily dropped out because they could no longer afford rent and groceries. In contrast, others take only three or four courses instead of a full course load so they can keep working and afford necessities.

Barber added that she's been using the same laptop she has had since Grade 8, while some classmates rely on library computers or search for second-hand textbooks because they cannot afford new ones. Quito said government grants can help ease the burden of student debt, but added that financial stress can still affect students' ability to concentrate on their education.

Skyrocketing tuition

Both students also said they want greater support for students' basic needs, emphasizing that those pursuing higher education should not have to choose between getting an education and affording food, housing and other essentials.

Mowat said Saskatchewan students are paying the second-highest tuition in Canada, making it increasingly difficult for young people to afford their education while managing everyday expenses.

"You're paying more for your education, more for rent, and more for groceries every time you go to the store... We're not setting people up for success," she said, pointing out that some students have reported taking semesters off or leaving school altogether because they can no longer afford to continue. She urged action to make life more affordable for Saskatchewan residents.

Recent figures cited in a Robertson College summary of Statistics Canada data showed a national average annual tuition of $8,021 for undergraduate studies in the 2026-27 academic year, with Saskatchewan ranking second-highest among the provinces at $10,167, behind New Brunswick's $10,373. Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest average at $3,718.

International students pay more, with Saskatchewan ranking sixth among the 10 provinces, with an average annual tuition of $33,496. Newfoundland and Labrador remains the lowest at $18,911, while Ontario has the highest tuition rates for international students, with an annual average of $50,088.

Listening to students

The University of Saskatchewan said it recognizes that affordability and cost-of-living pressures are among the challenges students and their families face, which is why it has also invested in support systems and other programs to keep education and studies accessible.

"With deep care and commitment, we work to help students manage rising living costs through more than $61 million annually in scholarships, bursaries, tuition waivers and crisis aid for domestic and international undergraduate and graduate students," USask said in a statement.

The university also clarified that the tuition comparison the NDP raised, in which Saskatchewan students' tuition was described as "twice as high as the Canadian national average," is "comparable to, or slightly above, that of Canada's research-intensive universities."

USask said a high proportion of its students enrol in higher-tuition professional programs, such as medicine, law, veterinary medicine and dentistry, which raises the overall average.

"Program-specific tuition changes are guided by the Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Multi-Year Operating Funding Memorandum of Understanding, announced by the province in 2025, setting a zero-to-three per cent range for domestic tuition changes," USask said.

Students struggling

Mowat said Barber and Quito's experiences are among the stories of students increasingly struggling to balance the costs of tuition, housing and groceries, with some being forced to take time off school or abandon their post-secondary education altogether. She said students are facing difficult decisions as the cost of meeting basic needs continues to rise, arguing that young people should not have to choose between paying rent, buying groceries and pursuing an education.

"We're hearing from students who are being forced to make terrible choices between paying the rent, buying groceries, and getting an education. This should not be the case in a province as wealthy as Saskatchewan," said Mowat, who also pointed to financial insecurity in Saskatchewan, rising rental costs and increasing grocery prices as factors contributing to the pressure on students and their families.

Mowat said figures also showed that 5,290 people between the ages of 15 and 29 left Saskatchewan last year, a seven per cent increase, which she linked to the financial pressures of living in the province. She added that the cost of living is among the factors influencing their decisions. She warned that Saskatchewan should be doing more to retain young people by helping them access education, find employment and build their futures in the province.

Mowat further argued that financial insecurity in Saskatchewan is worse than in other parts of Canada, pointing to higher rates of people living close to financial ruin without their next paycheque and households falling behind on mortgage payments.

Multi-million-dollar funding

Advanced Education Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said in a statement that the government has taken steps to help university students by investing $250 million over four years in the province's post-secondary institutions, a move that would help maintain affordable tuition and limit increases to between zero and three per cent, ensuring students continue to receive a high-quality education.

"We have also invested more than $2.3 million in Open Educational Resources, giving students access to free textbooks and other academic resources," said Cheveldayoff, pointing out that universities are autonomous institutions that set their own tuition and fee rates.

He added that the government has also set aside $119.3 million in student supports this year, including a $5-million increase to the Student Aid Fund and up to $24,000 in tuition rebates through the Graduate Retention Program, which he said demonstrates the government's steady investment in student success.

"Saskatchewan ranks second among provinces in expenditures per student at both the university and college levels, well above the national average, helping students benefit from a strong and steady post-secondary education system right here at home," said Cheveldayoff.

Beyond party lines

Mowat said the opposition is willing to work with the government to make life more affordable for Saskatchewan residents. She added that the NDP would introduce six pieces of legislation to address affordability in the province, including rent control, a ban on unfair AI pricing and removing the PST on groceries.

She added that the Saskatchewan Party government under Premier Scott Moe has rejected most of the party's bills. "These are practical steps that would help students, families, and everyday Saskatchewan people make ends meet. Time and time again, Scott Moe and the Sask. Party have refused to act, but our team will not stop fighting to make life more affordable."

"We are always willing to work with the government when there's a good idea. It doesn't matter where the good idea comes from. We will often have bills that are passed that are brought forward as private members' bills from the Opposition and then eventually are tabled by the government, and we are very willing to work with them if they agree with these concepts."

However, she added that this is not what the NDP has seen with the six bills it planned to reintroduce in the fall sitting. She said the six measures would give government MLAs a chance to consult their constituents, talk with people and understand the affordability crisis people face right now, which could help get the bills passed.