We moved to B.C. after my child turned 6. Can we still apply?

Yes, as long as your child hasn't turned 9 and the grant hasn't ended yet. Where you live is checked on the day you apply, so a family that just moved from another province can apply right away. Your child still needs a SIN and an RESP at a provider that offers the grant.

What happens to the $1,200 if my child doesn't go to school after high school?

It has to be paid back to the government. The grant can only come out as part of an educational assistance payment for a program after high school. In a family plan where every beneficiary is a sibling, though, a brother or sister can use it instead.

Does the federal grant match the $1,200?

No. The Canada Education Savings Grant only matches money you contribute yourself, and the $1,200 is a government payment, not a contribution. It also doesn't use up any of the $7,200 federal grant limit, so your child can get both in full.

Is the BCTESG taxable?

Not while it stays in the RESP. When your child takes it out for school, it's paid as part of an educational assistance payment, which is taxed as the student's income. Most students earn little enough during their studies that the tax on it is small or nothing.

BCTESG 2026: Claim B.C.'s $1,200 RESP Grant Before It Ends

B.C. is ending its $1,200 RESP grant. The province’s February 2026 budget (opens in a new tab) says the B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant, or BCTESG, will be discontinued on April 1, 2028. Until then it works the way it always has: a child who lives in B.C. and is 6, 7 or 8 can get $1,200 deposited into a registered education savings plan (RESP), and the family doesn’t have to put in a cent.

The province says fewer than half of eligible children were getting it. If your child was born between late 2017 and early 2022, check now whether they’ve had it. Some of them have only months left to apply.

What is the BCTESG?

The BCTESG is a one-time $1,200 grant from the B.C. government for a child’s education after high school. It’s paid into an RESP, there’s no income test, and you don’t have to contribute anything to get it. The federal government runs it for the province through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) (opens in a new tab), so you apply through the same RESP providers that handle the federal grants.

The grant started in 2015 and is open to children born in 2006 or later. Each child can get it once, and the money stays in the RESP until the child uses it for school.

Is the B.C. RESP grant really ending?

Yes. B.C.’s Budget 2026, tabled on February 17, 2026, says that “effective April 1, 2028, the B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant will be discontinued.” The province gave two reasons: fewer than half of eligible children received it, and the money went disproportionately to families in areas with higher average household incomes. Ending it is expected to save $30 million a year starting in 2028/29, which works out to about 25,000 grants.

The province’s own page about the grant (opens in a new tab) was last updated in 2022 and doesn’t mention the end date yet. So far the budget gives the date and nothing more, which means nobody has said how applications sent in the last few weeks before April 1, 2028 will be handled. Don’t leave it until March 2028.

Which children can still get the BCTESG before 2028?

A child can still get the $1,200 if they live in B.C., haven’t received it yet, and apply between their 6th birthday and the day before their 9th, before the grant ends on April 1, 2028. In practice, that’s children born from late 2017 to March 2022. A child born in April 2022 or later turns 6 after the grant ends, so they’ll never qualify.

Child born	When you can apply
2016 or earlier	The window has closed
2017 to March 2019	Until the day before their 9th birthday
April 2019 to March 2022	From their 6th birthday until the grant ends on April 1, 2028
April 2022 or later	Never. They turn 6 after the grant ends

For a child born in 2017, the day before their 9th birthday falls in 2026, so it may have passed already or be only weeks away. A child born in 2018 has until sometime in 2027.

The youngest children get the shortest window

Normally every child gets three years to apply. Now the end date cuts that short for anyone born after March 2019. A child born in April 2021 turns 6 in April 2027, so they get about a year. One born in January 2022 gets less than three months, and one born in late March 2022 gets a few days. If your child is in that group, put their 6th birthday in your calendar with a note to call your RESP provider that week.

Who qualifies for the BCTESG?

Your child qualifies if all of these are true on the day you apply, according to ESDC’s rules for RESP providers (opens in a new tab):

They were born in 2006 or later, and they’re at least 6 but not yet 9.
You, as the parent or legal guardian with custody, and your child both live in B.C.
Your child has a social insurance number (SIN).
Your child is named as the beneficiary of an RESP at a provider that offers the grant.
The RESP is an individual plan, or a family plan where every beneficiary is a brother or sister. Half-siblings and step-siblings count.

Your family’s income doesn’t change anything: every eligible child gets the same $1,200. A family plan that also names a cousin can’t receive the grant, so in that case you’d open a separate plan for your child.

How do you apply for the $1,200?

You apply through an RESP provider. Once your child turns 6, you open an RESP for them, or use the one you already have, and sign the provider’s BCTESG application. You don’t need to deposit anything, and the government sends the $1,200 to the provider, who puts it in the plan.

Get a SIN for your child if they don’t have one yet. It’s free from Service Canada.
Check that your provider offers the grant. On ESDC’s list of RESP providers (opens in a new tab), 55 of 78 offer it. That includes an arm of each of the Big Six banks, Central 1, which serves many B.C. credit unions, and Wealthsimple. Some don’t, including Questrade and BMO InvestorLine, so check before you count on it.
Open the RESP, or use the one you have. If your current provider doesn’t offer the BCTESG, the province says you can open a second RESP at one that does.
Sign the BCTESG application between your child’s 6th birthday and the day before their 9th. You and your child both have to live in B.C. that day.
Ask for the federal grants at the same time if you haven’t already. The provider applies for the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond through the same plan.

What’s left for B.C. families after the grant ends?

The federal grants aren’t changing. The Canada Education Savings Grant still adds 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute each year, up to $7,200 per child, and families on a lower income can still get the Canada Learning Bond, worth up to $2,000 with no contribution. Only the provincial $1,200 goes away.

Program	What it pays	After April 1, 2028
B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant	$1,200 once, ages 6 to 8	Ends
Canada Education Savings Grant	20% of the first $2,500 you put in each year, up to $7,200	Continues
Additional CESG	Another 10% or 20% of the first $500, depending on income	Continues
Canada Learning Bond	Up to $2,000, no contribution needed	Continues

The difference is that, apart from the bond, the federal money only comes when you contribute. Put in $500 in a year and you get $100 to $200 in grants, depending on your income. Our guide to saving for your child’s education shows what different monthly amounts add up to by the time your child is 18.

Saving up for the RESP in smaller amounts

To get the full federal grant, you need to put $2,500 a year into the RESP, which is about $208 a month. Plenty of families can’t do that, and any amount still gets matched. What helps most is setting money aside regularly so it’s there when you’re ready to move it in.

Lodavo is a free Canadian app: connect the savings account where you’re putting the money aside, and every $25 in it earns you a free ticket for the weekly cash draw. Someone wins at least $100 every week, and the top prize is $10,000. Your savings stay in your own account until you decide to move them into the RESP.

Claim it while you still can

If your child is between 6 and 8 and hasn’t had the BCTESG, a short call or form with your RESP provider gets you $1,200. Then, if you’d like saving for the rest of the RESP to come with a chance to win, Lodavo is free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or the Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).

This article is general information, not financial or tax advice. Your RESP provider or Service Canada can confirm whether your child can still get the grant.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.