Free Tuition for Local Nursing and Paramedic Students

January 20, 2023

NORTH BAY – Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing announced that the Ontario government is connecting North Bay with more health care workers by expanding the Learn and Stay grant. This grant is for students who enroll in nursing, paramedic, and medical laboratory technologist programs. Eligible students will receive full, upfront funding for tuition, books, and other direct educational costs in return for working and caring for people in the region where they studied for a term of service after they graduate.

“This is a historic investment in our students and in the future of our health care workforce in Nipissing,” said Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing. “By providing targeted financial incentives to encourage students to learn and work close to home, the expanded Learn and Stay grant will ensure that our health care professionals get the training they need to make immediate impacts in local hospitals, long-term care homes and other health care facilities after they graduate.”

Eligible programs, institutions and regions for the 2023–2024 academic year will be available for select nursing, paramedic and medical laboratory technology/medical laboratory science at the diploma, advanced diploma, undergraduate, masters and post-graduate levels. Grant applications for the 2023-24 academic year open this spring.

The local diploma and advance diploma programs include:

Practical Nursing at Canadore College
Paramedic Program at CTS Canadian Career College Inc, North Bay

The local undergraduate programs for Bachelor or Bachelor of Science in Nursing include:

Canadore College
Nipissing University

“Canadore College is happy the Ontario government is taking this initiative. Northern Ontario is experiencing shortages in health care fields like practical nursing. This program will attract students into these programs and keep them in the region once they graduate.” – George Burton, President of Canadore College.

“We are elated at the inclusion of CTS Canadian Career College and its Primary Care Paramedic program in the Ontario Learn and Stay program. Since the onset of the pandemic our valued partners in the EMS sector have been understaffed and underserved. This invaluable initiative will help EMS Services to fulfill the overwhelming staff needs while simultaneously assisting students to make education both realistic and affordable.”– CTS Canadian Career College President, Dr. Amanda Harris.

“Our nursing graduates are in-demand across the province and this new funding will encourage our students to stay in our region upon graduation where they will contribute their expertise in contemporary healthcare and leadership skills to our hospitals and health-care agencies.” – Dr. Kevin Wamsley, President & Vice-Chancellor, Nipissing University.

The government has committed $61 million over the next three years for the Learn and Stay grant. To be eligible for the grant, students must:

be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person and live in Ontario
enrol in an eligible diploma, advanced diploma, undergraduate, masters or post-graduate program in a priority region
commit to work in the region where they studied for a minimum of six months for every year of study funded by the grant.

With more than 12,000 new nurses registering to work in Ontario last year – a record breaking year – and another 30,000 nurses studying at a college or university, the expanded Learn and Stay grant will continue to increase the number of health care workers providing care to people, closer to home.

The government continues to take action to build up the province’s health care workforce to ensure patients can access the health care they need when they need it, no matter where they live.

Quick Facts

Students can apply for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to help pay for other costs, such as living expenses.
The program is responsive to evolving labour market needs and could be tailored for any program, profession or region. In future years, the grant may be expanded to include more programs and regions to help respond to localized labour market needs in underserved communities in Ontario.
As part of the Learn and Stay Grant, $81 million will be invested to expand the Community Commitment Program for Nurses for up to 1,500 nurse graduates in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to receive full tuition reimbursement in exchange for committing to practice for two years in an underserved community.

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