Premier Doug Ford announced today that the Ontario Government has created a scholarship fund to honour the victims of the recent fatal plane crash in Iran.

The scholarship fund will disburse $10,000 to 57 students, one for each of the Canadian lives lost in the crash on January 8. 

"Many of the victims were students and professors with bright futures, studying and teaching at Ontario universities and colleges, and contributing to the advancement of research in many life changing fields," said Ford.

"We will honour their memories through these scholarships to recognize their incredible contributions to our communities."

Dozens of universities and colleges lost students, faculty, and staff in the crash. George Brown College, the University of Toronto, and York University were among the long list of schools affected by the crash.

Scholarships will be allocated in honour of each of the 34 victims to the institutions to which they belonged, with the remainder allocated to other eligible institutions based on a competitive process.

Implementation of the proposed scholarships is expected to happen in September for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Premier Doug Ford, was joined by MPP Michael Parsa and MPP Goldie Ghamari in a press conference on Thursday where he announced the scholarship fund.

LIVE: Premier Doug Ford makes an announcement at Queen's Park. https://t.co/k4hOl07ZjJ

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) January 16, 2020

Ford says both MPPs have been working hard to support Ontario's Iranian community. 

"The Iranian community is hurting and I want to tell them that the rest of Ontario is hurting with them," he said. 

Ford went on to say that the Ontario government is working with the federal Government to support families of the victims.