Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Supports for Student Learning Program
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGO23 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Learning, Skills Development and Employment
- In Departmental Plans
- 2020-21 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP) funds youth-serving organizations to provide supports to students who face barriers to graduating high school, transitioning to, and persisting in post-secondary education (PSE). This includes but is not limited to Indigenous students, Black and racialized students, students with disabilities, those from low-income households, and 2SLGBTQ+ students.
Inclusive supports are offered outside of the formal education system, to complement efforts by provinces and territories. Increasing equity for all students is the priority.
The program focuses on two key areas:
1. Students and afterschool supports: Funding inclusive supports (such as tutoring, mentoring, bursaries, scholarships and other targeted social supports), tailored for students who face the greatest barriers to graduating high school, transitioning to, and persisting in post-secondary education (PSE). This includes Indigenous students, Black and racialized students, students with disabilities, those from low-income households, 2SLGBTQ+ students, and more. Supports are delivered at the national and community levels, outside of the formal education system.
2. Study and work abroad opportunities: Helping Canadian college and undergraduate university students take part in international learning opportunities both at home (virtually) and abroad, to build in-demand skills that employers are looking for.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2019-20. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports for Student Learning Program | This program | 2019-20 – 2028-29 | $362M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Spending $43.4M, against $15.6M in 2019-20 (+177%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Renamed from “Support for Student Learning” to “Supports for Student Learning”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2022-23 | Spending $97.4M, against $47.6M in 2021-22 (+105%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Renamed from “Supports for Student Learning” to “Supports for Student Learning Program”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Percentage of SSLP funded supports that enable youth preparedness for further studies or the labour market | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Percentage change in number of students receiving supports from the Supports for Student Learning Program. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $29M, against $80.2M in 2024-25 (−64%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $4.3M, against $28.8M in 2026-27 (−85%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 60% | 2025 | 82% In the Students and Afterschool Supports stream, 82% of surveyed youth felt ready for the next step in their learning after receiving SSLP supports (n=537). Under the Global Skills Opportunity stream which was delivered by Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada, 94% of Universities Canada surveyed participants and 68% of Colleges and Institutes Canada survey participants reported… | Met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Baseline will be established in 2020-2021 | 2021 | 12,752 A baseline for the Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP) will be set in 2021-22 pending changes to the program such as the consolidation of Goal Getters under SSLP. A percentage will be reported once a baseline is established. The actual result only contains data for Pathways to Education Canada and Indspire and represents the total number of students served by these organizations, which b… | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | — | 2022 | Not available More than 32000 students participated in at least one of the initiatives supported by the Supports for Student Learning Program. A percentage change for fiscal year 2021-2022, based on fiscal year 2020-2021, cannot be reported due to the ongoing implementation of data collection practices and the absence of a baseline. Given the lack of an accurate baseline due to delays in implementation of the… | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | Not available | 2023 | Not available A percentage change for fiscal year 2022-23, cannot be reported due to fluctuations in funding and implementation delays which prevented the program from establishing an accurate baseline. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | Not available | 2024 | Not available A change in indicator is in place with an established target to commence next fiscal year, 2024-2025. | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | — | $15.6M |
| 2020-21 | $37.8M | $43.4M |
| 2021-22 | $42.9M | $47.6M |
| 2022-23 | $83.1M | $97.4M |
| 2023-24 | $40.3M | $78.2M |
| 2024-25 | $48.5M | $80.2M |
| 2025-26 | $29M | — |
| 2026-27 | $28.8M | — |
| 2027-28 | $4.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $4.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | — | 8 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 7 |
| 2021-22 | 10 | 26 |
| 2022-23 | 28 | 32 |
| 2023-24 | 16 | 25 |
| 2024-25 | 4 | 21 |
| 2025-26 | 6 | — |
| 2026-27 | 6 | — |
| 2027-28 | 0* | — |
| 2028-29 | 0* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 plan | $37,838,138 | $42,838,140 | $25,338,161 | ||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $42,882,466 | $25,384,481 | $25,384,481 | ||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $83,100,430 | $25,385,038 | $24,222,162 | ||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $40,252,156 | $28,303,098 | $3,866,884 | ||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $48,529,544 | $4,296,851 | $4,309,525 | ||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $29,038,777 | $28,850,107 | $4,316,017 | ||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $28,838,110 | $4,296,786 | $4,295,932 | ||||||
| Actual | $43,361,969 | $47,598,045 | $97,407,331 | $78,161,774 | $80,209,431 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
