Canada Learning Bond Explained

The Canada Learning Bond, combined with your Registered Education Savings Plan, can be a valuable tool in helping you save for your child’s education. If you qualify for the CLB, you can receive a $500 bond just by opening up a RESP, and an additional $100 per year until your child turns 15. With this kind of incentive, you can start saving immediately for your child’s education.

The Canada Learning Bond is money from the government of Canada designed to help you start saving for your child’s education. The Canada Learning Bond begins with an immediate contribution of $500 to your child’s RESP, and continues with an additional $100 per year up to the point when your child reaches the age of 15. This translates to up to $2,000 for your child’s education, plus interest. All you have to do is open a RESP and be eligible for the Canada Learning Bond.

CLB vs. CESG

The Canada Learning Bond, or CLB, is a bond that your child may be eligible to receive in addition to the Canada Education Savings Grant, or CESG. The CESG is a grant available to all Canadian children whose parents contribute to their RESP. The Canada Learning Bond is available regardless of whether the parents contribute to the RESP, but only for eligible families. Between the CLB and the CESG, you could receive up to $9,200 in government money for your child’s education - all through opening and contributing to a RESP.

Who is Eligible for the Canada Learning Bond?

CLB eligibility is shaped, most importantly, by the National Child Benefit Supplement. In order to qualify for the Canada Learning Bond, you must receive the National Child Benefit Supplement as part of the Canada Child Tax Benefit. Additionally, your child must have been born after December 31, 2003.

If you meet both of these requirements, you meet the standard for CLB eligibility. If you don’t receive the National Child Benefit supplement, you’re not eligible for the CLB, but you can still receive the Canada Education Savings Grant. The CLB is in addition to the CESG, and eligible persons may receive both the grant and the bond.

How to Apply for the Canada Learning Bond

To apply for the Canada Learning Bond, you must get a Social Insurance Number for yourself and your child, and open an RESP with a RESP provider that offers the CLB. Your provider will then apply for the Canada Learning Bond on your behalf. You don’t have to put money into your RESP to be eligible for the CLB; you simply open the RESP and the bond funds are direct-deposited into the account. But you must make sure your RESP provider offers the CLB