The cost of a four-year Canadian university degree — tuition, residence, meals, books, and transportation — now regularly exceeds $100,000. Families who plan early, use the RESP correctly, and layer in tax-efficient investment strategies give their children options that debt-financed students never have.
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Education planning helps Canadian families fund post-secondary costs, usually starting with a Registered Education Savings Plan. Contributions are not tax-deductible, but they attract the Canada Education Savings Grant and grow tax-sheltered until withdrawn, when growth and grants are taxed in the student's hands — typically at a low rate.
Comprehensive strategies tailored to Canadian families, professionals and business owners.
The RESP is the most powerful education savings tool available to Canadian families. Contributions grow tax-sheltered, the federal government adds the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) — up to $7,200 per child over the plan's life — and low- and middle-income families qualify for additional Canada Learning Bond amounts. When the child enrolls in post-secondary, withdrawals are taxed in the student's hands, typically at a very low rate.
The federal government matches 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute each year — a $500 free grant, every year, per child. Contributing $2,500 per year from birth through age 17 captures the full $7,200 lifetime CESG. Families who miss years can catch up on one year at a time — so starting late still recovers meaningful grant money if the strategy is done right.
A Family RESP lets you name multiple children and share the earnings and grants among the beneficiaries who go on to post-secondary — a valuable flexibility if one child goes to university and another does not. Individual RESPs are simpler but less flexible. Our advisors help families structure the plan that best matches the number of children and the household's cash flow.
Once the RESP is optimized, tax-advantaged education savings continue in the parents' or grandparents' TFSAs, in cash-value life insurance policies that can be borrowed against tax-free during university years, and in non-registered accounts using Canadian dividend income and capital gains for tax efficiency. A blended strategy consistently outperforms an RESP alone for families targeting private school, medical school, or graduate education.
K–12 private schooling in Canada is not RESP-eligible, but Whole Life cash value, non-registered portfolios, and Family Bank strategies are used by many of our client families to fund it. Structuring the cash flow across a decade of tuition — while continuing to save for university — is a core part of what our advisors design.
For families anticipating law, medicine, dentistry, or MBA programs — which now regularly total $200,000+ — the RESP is only a starting point. Our education strategies commonly stack RESP grants, TFSA growth, cash-value insurance loans, and, for incorporated parents, corporate class investments to fund graduate education without high-interest professional student debt.
A family that starts contributing $2,500/year at birth has approximately $80,000–$100,000 in the RESP at age 17 (at reasonable growth assumptions and full CESG). A family that starts at age 10 captures far less grant and less compound growth. Even in the same investment, the earlier saver ends with roughly double the balance — the single largest lever in the entire strategy is time.
The RESP is not lost. Grant money is returned to the government, but your original contributions come back to you tax-free, and up to $50,000 of accumulated growth can typically be rolled into your RRSP if you have the room. This is another reason the RESP remains one of the safest savings vehicles in Canadian law.
Statistics from Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, CLHIA and other authoritative sources.
Source: Government of Canada, ESDC 2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 37-10-0045-01
Source: Statistics Canada, 2024
Source: Government of Canada, CRA 2024
Confirm contributions and CESG received for each beneficiary.
Estimate tuition, housing and other costs for the expected program and location.
Choose a contribution and risk-reduction schedule based on the enrolment date.
Free 45-minute consultation. Guidance from our advisors is provided at no direct cost to you.
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The consultation is free and there is no direct advisory fee. Any fees inside the RESP or investments you choose are disclosed before you open an account.
Book a Financial ConsultationMost clients meet over secure video calls. In-person meetings are available at our Vancouver office at 320 Granville Street, Unit 820. Service depends on each advisor's provincial licensing.
Products are offered by individually licensed advisors, not by this website. Advisors may be compensated by financial institutions or product providers.
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Whether you're protecting your family, planning for retirement, growing your business, saving for education, preserving your estate, or building long-term wealth, our licensed GFI Canada Financial Professionals are here to help you create a personalized financial strategy tailored to your goals.