This is a guide to opening an RESP for education savings in Canada. You can open an RESP at almost any financial institution—including a bank, trust company or credit union—or an investment or scholarship plan dealer. You can open an RESP as soon as the child is born. The money in the plan grows tax-free and the government offers special savings incentives. When the child enters a qualified educational program at the post-secondary level, he or she can start drawing on the accumulated savings. Only the child will pay taxes on the money he or she withdraws. Since many students have little or no other income, they usually don’t have to pay much, if any, tax when they withdraw money from their plan