Your Tuition Credits are Non-Refundable Tax Credits. This means they are only used to reduce any tax payable you may have to zero, they are not issued as an actual refund.
- If your "taxable income" is below $11,635, you would have no tax payable and your tuition credits would not be used, they would carry forward until you needed to use them to reduce your tax payable.
- If your tuition was used on your tax return to reduce your tax payable to zero, you would only be refunded any tax that was withheld, (from your T4s or other income).
On your Notice of Assessment (NOA) you received, it should state on there how much of your tuition is available as a carryforward.
https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/understanding-tuition-tax-credits-6549
