Order Fixing the Day After the Day on Which this Order is Made as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 Come into Force: SI/2025-88

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 15

Registration
SI/2025-88 July 16, 2025

BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2024, NO. 1

Order Fixing the Day After the Day on Which this Order is Made as the Day on Which Certain Provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 Come into Force

P.C. 2025-536 June 26, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development and the Minister of Finance, under subsection 171(1) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 2024, fixes the day after the day on which this Order is made as the day on which section 162, subsection 163(2), sections 166 to 168, subsection 169(1) and section 170 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council, pursuant to subsection 171(1) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 2024, fixes the day on which section 162, subsection 163(2), sections 166 to 168, subsection 169(1) and section 170 of that Act come into force.

These provisions allow the Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) [the Minister] to begin to establish a regime to implement automatic enrolment to the Canada Learning Bond (the Bond) for eligible children.

Objective

This Order is the first step in the implementation of the automatic enrolment initiative for the Bond. It will bring into force legislative amendments to the Canada Education Savings Act, which will

• change the definition of a primary caregiver (PCG) to include eligible individuals for children who are not yet beneficiaries of a registered education savings plan (RESP);
• create an obligation for the Minister to send eligibility notifications and to open an RESP for the purpose of paying the Bond once eligibility is established;
• establish the eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment, clarify that PCGs can apply for the Bond if they initially choose to opt out;
• enable the Minister to enter into an agreement with a service provider and remunerate them with funds that will come from the consolidated revenue fund;
• establish an authority to collect eligible children’s social insurance number (SIN), the SIN of the child’s PCG and the primary caregiver’s cohabiting spouse or common-law partner; and
• allow for regulation-making authorities.

This Order in Council also brings into force consequential amendments to the Income Tax Act, which will

• amend the definition of an education savings plan and subscriber under that plan.

Background

The Government of Canada introduced the Bond in 2004 to encourage families with low income to use an RESP to plan and save for their child’s post-secondary education. Eligible children can receive up to a maximum of $2,000 in their RESP. To be eligible, the child must be a resident of Canada, have a SIN, be named an RESP beneficiary, be born on or after January 1, 2004, and be from a family with low-income. In 2023, almost 20 years after the introduction of the Bond, only 43.1% of eligible children had received the Bond. Families with low incomes and hard-to-reach groups including Indigenous families, single-parent families, and families with very low incomes face barriers to accessing the Bond.

The Budget Implementation Act 2024, No. 1 introduced legislative amendments to support the implementation of automatic enrolment to the Bond. This Order brings into force amendments to the Canada Education Savings Act and consequential amendments to the Income Tax Act for the purposes of

• including children who are not yet beneficiaries of RESPs under the Canada Education Savings Program regime;
• defining the requirements to be met by the Minister prior to opening an RESP and the exceptions under which the Minister would not open an RESP in respect of a child who is eligible for the Bond;
• establishing the obligation of the Minister to notify the primary caregiver that their child is eligible for the Bond and meets the requirements for automatic enrolment;
• clarifying that a primary caregiver may still apply for the Bond under the current regime;
• allowing the Minister to enter into an agreement with a service provider and remunerate that service provider for the administration of RESPs opened by the Minister, and to pay the Bond through automatic enrolment to these RESPs;
• authorizing the Minister to collect the SIN of persons who are eligible for the Bond, and, if the person is under 18, the SIN of their primary caregiver, or their cohabiting spouse or common-law partner;
• including the Minister among the list of authorized subscribers to an RESP; and
• allowing for the Governor in Council to make regulations.

Regulations are intended to set out the maximum age of a child for whom the Minister of ESDC may open an RESP, the requirements for the refusal of a Bond payment in an RESP opened by the Minister, the conditions for the payment of the Bond into an RESP opened by the Minister, the requirements for the administration of RESPs opened by the Minister, and the requirements for agreements with a service provider for the RESPs opened by the Minister.

Implications

These legislative amendments will allow ESDC to begin developing the process for automatic enrolment to the Bond for eligible children born in 2024 and after. Children eligible for automatic enrolment are those who meet the eligibility criteria for the Bond and have not been named an RESP beneficiary. The first RESPs are intended to be opened by the Minister in 2028 following industry consultations, the selection of a RESP provider and the development of regulations and delivery mechanisms.

Starting in November 2024, caregivers of children who became eligible for the Bond for the first time received letters to notify them of their child’s eligibility for the Bond and for potential automatic enrolment, should they choose not to open an RESP with a financial institution of their choice by the time their child turns 4 years of age. Caregivers will also receive information in fall 2025 about how to opt out of having the Minister automatically open an RESP for their child should that be their preference.

Consultation

The model for automatic enrolment to the Bond has been designed through engagement with community-based organizations, Canadian and international academics, post-secondary institutions, Indigenous organizations, and RESP promoters. ESDC has conducted extensive research of similar international programs that use elements of automatic delivery for government benefits. Other government departments, including the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Service Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada have also been consulted.

ESDC provided stakeholders with an overview of the changes announced in Budget 2024 through a presentation to the Registered Education Savings Plan Advisory Group, consisting of industry stakeholders, provincial partners, and departmental representatives. Formal consultations with industry (for example, banks, investment services, scholarship plan dealers) took place in fall 2024 through a Request for Information. One RESP provider will be selected through a competitive Request for Proposals process.

Contact

Aileen Pangilinan
Executive Director
Special Projects
Program Design Division
Canada Education Savings Program
Employment and Social Development Canada
200 Montcalm Street, Tower II
Gatineau, Québec
K1A 0J9
Email: aileen.pangilinan@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca