LearnSmart, a pilot project funded by Employment and Social Development Canada, offers low-income Calgarians born after January 1, 2004, a free and simple pathway to open Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and apply to retroactively receive Canada Learning Bond (CLB) funds to which they are entitled. 

To apply for this program, participants must:

• Be a resident of Canada
• Have a valid SIN
• Must be born after January 1, 2004
• Be under the age of 21
• Be from families that qualify as low-income (less than $50,197)

RESPs are long-term savings plans that help people save for education after high school. RESPs are available to both parents who want to open RESPs for their children, and for adults who want to open RESPS for themselves. RESPs are powerful intergenerational poverty reduction tools correlated with increasing high-school completion rates and greater post-secondary participation. Participants can easily open an RESP with LearnSmart at no-cost by clicking here. 

By opening an RESP, individuals living on low incomes can access free government education savings incentives, like the CLB. The CLB is money that the Government of Canada adds to an RESP specifically for children or young adults born in 2004 or later and who are from low-income families. There are no contributions required for a child or young adult to receive the CLB, and recipients may receive between $500-2000 of government education savings. Participants can easily apply for the CLB at no-cost by clicking here. 

Want to sign-up in person? Centre for Newcomers will be hosting an in-person LearnSmart RESP sign-up event on Saturday September 9th from 1PM-4PM. 

This project is a collaboration between Momentum, Aspire, Centre for Newcomers, CIWA, SAIT and Wealthsimple Foundation.

Learn more about LearnSmart!