The situation in Quebec is somewhat particular. Currently, one province, Quebec, and the three territories have opted out of the Canada Student Loans Program and the Canada Student Grants Program. Since the early 60s, Quebec has been administering its own student financial assistance program, which is based on two principles: a contributory principle and a supplemental principle. In a nutshell, that means that the student and his or her family must contribute and the government provides an additional amount to meet living expenses that are calculated bearing in mind educational expenditures and tuition fees.
This is a system which, in Quebec, works relatively well despite some shortcomings. However, it does enable students in Quebec to have a much lower debt load than those from the other Canadian provinces. The average debt, following completion of a bachelor's degree, is $15,000 as compared to approximately $27,000 in the rest of Canada. This is a system that has proven itself, which overall works very well. Some aspects of its administration require adjustment but the infrastructure itself enables widespread accessibility to post-secondary education without acquiring an unreasonable level of debt.