Eighty per cent expect to work during the academic year, while 57 per cent remain concerned about covering tuition and living expenses. Despite that tension, 78 per cent are optimistic about their financial future after graduation, and the same share say they believe they are making the right financial decisions for their future today.
“Students are thinking more holistically about their future, combining education and career preparation with a growing focus on financial wellbeing,” said Carissa Lucreziano, Vice-President of Financial Planning and Advice at CIBC. “Alongside their education, they are looking for practical ways to build skills that can support their career ambitions and long-term financial goals.”
The roommate money problem
Meanwhile, RBC has launched a Roommate Money Guide aimed at helping students set clear financial expectations with housemates before the school year begins and addressing what the bank describes as a consistently avoided conversation, despite the fact that shared living has become the norm for millions of young Canadians.
Shared housing is now a structural feature of young Canadian financial life, not just a temporary arrangement. Statistics Canada census data cited by RBC shows that roommate households were the fastest-growing household type in Canada between 2001 and 2021, increasing by 54 per cent.
Among Canadians aged 20 to 34, living with people outside a census family was the fastest-growing living arrangement between 2016 and 2021, rising by 20 per cent.