Ontario Distance Grants (OSAP)
by Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (OSAP)
Also known as: OSAP Distance Grant · Ontario Distance Grant - Commuting · Ontario Distance Grant - Travel · Ontario Student Grant - Distance Component
If your permanent home is 80+ km from the closest college or university of the type you attend, true for much of Northern Ontario, OSAP's Distance Grants add flat grant money to your full-time funding package: reported at $500 per term (max $1,500 over three terms) for the commuting component, with a separate travel component for students living away from home. No separate application; OSAP considers you automatically.
Key facts
- Amount
- Up to $1,500 $500 per term (commuting component)
Commuting component: $500/term to a maximum of $1,500 for a three-term study period. The travel component (single dependent students living away from the parental home) is a separate amount not published on a live official page; OSAP's need assessment separately adds a Return Travel Allowance of up to $1,200 for students living 30+ km from the parental home.
Against all tracked amounts, $1,000 to $500,000,000, logarithmic.
ontario.ca · Unconfirmed since Aug 17, 2026 · Uncertain: confirm with funder
$500 per term to a maximum of $1,500 for a three-term study period
- Instrument
- Grant (non-repayable)
- Status
- Next intake not announced watch this page or subscribe to the calendar
- Who qualifies
- Individuals
- individual
- Full-time OSAP applicant whose permanent residence is 80 km or more from the closest postsecondary institution of the type attended (reported)
- Two components: Commuting (regular commuters) and Travel (single dependent students living away from the parental home during study) (reported)
- Province-wide, but the 80-km test makes it disproportionately relevant to Northern Ontario students
- No separate application, OSAP automatically considers you when you apply for full-time aid (reported)
ontario.ca · Unconfirmed since Aug 17, 2026 · Uncertain: confirm with funder
- Where
- Algoma District · Cochrane District · Greater Sudbury (single-tier census division) · Kenora District · Manitoulin District · District Municipality of Muskoka · Nipissing District · Parry Sound District · Rainy River District · Sudbury District (excl. Greater Sudbury) · Thunder Bay District · Timiskaming District
11 of 11 Northern Ontario districts are eligible for this program. A filled dot is eligible, an outline is not.
- Built for
- Students & individuals
How do you apply?
- Apply for full-time OSAP for the academic year (osap.gov.on.ca)
- OSAP automatically assesses distance-grant eligibility from your permanent address, no separate form
- Grant is included in your OSAP funding package
ontario.ca · Unconfirmed since Aug 17, 2026 · Uncertain: confirm with funder
Can you combine this with other funding?
- Ontario Learn and Stay Grant, Compatible, Learn and Stay recipients can also apply for full-time OSAP, which auto-considers distance grants for living/travel costs.
Common questions
Do I need to apply separately for the Distance Grant?
No, OSAP automatically considers you for the distance grants (commuting or travel) when you submit a full-time OSAP application; eligibility is assessed from your permanent address.
How much is it?
Reported at $500 per term up to $1,500 for a three-term study period for the commuting component. The Ministry has not republished a standalone program page since the OSAP site redesign, so treat the exact figure as reported rather than confirmed for 2026-27.
Does living in Northern Ontario qualify me?
Only if your permanent residence is 80+ km from the closest postsecondary institution of the type you attend. Many Northern communities meet this, but students in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie or North Bay near a local campus of the same type may not.
Other streams of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
Funders publish these as one program with several streams. The terms differ by stream.
- Ontario Indigenous Travel Grant, Up to $5,200
Where else could this money come from?
Chosen by what these programs have in common with this one, not by hand. The reason is shown for each, so you can judge whether it holds.
-
Summer Company
Next intake not announced both for students & individuals; students — Up to $3,000
Guides that cover this program
Notes on this record
HONEST GAP: the official OSAP A-Z aid page for Distance Grants returns 404 after the 2025-26 osap.gov.on.ca redesign, and ontario.ca's OSAP pages do not currently describe the component. Amounts and the 80-km threshold come from OSAP presentation decks (ONECA 2020-21/2023) and university financial-aid pages, hence confidence: reported throughout. Re-verify when the Ministry republishes the aid list.
Facts on this page were confirmed by hand rather than by an automated read of the official source.
Apply
Apply on the funder’s site and confirm current terms there: