Students protested OSAP cuts outside MPP Will Bouma’s Brantford office on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Over ten students marched around Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus, then gathered in front of the MPP’s office and collected signatures from residents for a petition against the OSAP cuts.
Kaydin Smith-Cyr, a third-year user experience design student at Laurier, helped facilitate the protest alongside Clo Marie. Smith-Cyr belongs to Brantford Revolutionary Students, an independent grassroots group that has operated in Brantford for about a year and focuses on student issues. The group has not partnered directly with Laurier or any other institution and works with volunteers independently.
Smith-Cyr mentioned the cuts will affect residents in the long run.
“The cuts to OSAP are massive, to say the least, and they have affected students across Ontario,” said Smith-Cyr. “It’s not just the students here, but it’s our children in the future as well. If teachers cannot get the education they need to become teachers, then who is going to teach them? If social workers are not getting the education they need to do social work, who’s going to protect these children?”
Smith-Cyr said many of their friends would not be able to attend school without government loans or grants.
“I’m Indigenous, so I go through my band to get grants,” said Smith-Cyr. “However, if I did not have any access to that, I just wouldn’t be able to go to school. I would need to take up working full time in order to pay for my living expenses.”
Smith-Cyr said the campus has been quieter since last year and attributed it to financial issues.
“People get down, and they can’t stand back up without help,” said Smith-Cyr. “Ultimately, that’s what OSAP is. It’s the help you need to stand back up on your own as an adult.”
Smith-Cyr said the effects would ultimately reach the economy as well, because people with less money to spend on extras would hurt businesses, and that most jobs now require some form of higher education.
“They should correct the problem that they’ve created by making these cuts to OSAP,” said Smith-Cyr.
