The program that converted many student loans into grants and made tuition free for some students was halted by the Progressive Conservative Party after they took power in 2018.

The auditor general expected the cost of grants issued through the Ontario Student Assistance Program to reach $2 billion annually by 2020, much higher than previously expected by the former Liberal government that introduced the scheme.

The Green Party promises $1 billion annually to reverse the cuts and the Liberals pledge $600 million annually, while the NDP allocated a budget of $771 million next year and $834 million the following year, as well as a little over $40 million annually to convert student loans into grants.

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said at his campaign stop in the Ottawa area on Monday.

"We will reintroduce the generous OSAP program for Ontario students from middle- and low-income families as it was before 2018, before Doug Ford reversed the progress we started in making post-secondary education more accessible and affordable,

"We will also remove interest from student loans so that students only have to repay what they borrowed instead of the interest.

The New Democrats, prepared to spend a few hundred million additional dollars annually on the pledge, said they want Ontarians to graduate debt-free. The party said in an emailed statement: "The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) government will ensure the provision of high-quality post-secondary education for all Ontarians who want it, working towards a future where tuition fees are never a barrier to education."

The Green Party, which promises to spend most of the money on student grants, said education rates in Ontario are very high. Party leader Mike Schreiner said on Monday during a virtual press conference: "We recognize that we need to make significant investments in our post-secondary institutions."

His personal campaign was temporarily suspended after he contracted COVID-19 last week. "Ontario has the highest per capita tuition fees in the country and the lowest per capita funding for our post-secondary sector.

So we need to increase investments in colleges and universities to continue providing high-level education, "

The Progressive Conservatives do not plan to reverse the cuts they made. Instead, a party spokesperson said they cut tuition fees by 10 percent and froze them. The spokesperson said: "If re-elected, we will maintain the current tuition freeze for an additional academic year."