Thank you everybody for the advice and suggestions. Is there any reason/advantage to go with a big bank owned brokerage as suggested over Questrade? I do my regular banking with Scotiabank and have a Tangerine account and would prefer not to open an account with another bank, trying to streamline things.
Ask Questrade if they manage the Canada Learning Bonds (low income grants) and / or BC Provincial savings grants (e.g., for kids born between certain years). The answer will tell you if you may have challenges in future. some banks don't do the paperwork for these extra types of grants, some do. Questrade might and not TD, for example.
To your original question:
1. Do not do the Scholarship foundation route. There are 50 reasons why getting your money out is much, much more restrictive (penalties) than with a self-directed RESP. I could write a long time, but just don't.
2. I recommend investing in your RRSP until your kid is about 13 years old. Once they are 13, THEN set up the RESP and contribute $5k/year (the max when you have top up contribution room) for ages 13-17... or about $25k total out of your pocket. The government will match this with at least 20% and you get your $5k grant, plus any income. Now you have over $30k ready for first year college and you can cash flow the rest.
Why do I prefer the RRSP over the RESP until your kid is a teenager? It is so much more important for your RRSP, with 30+ years to grow, to have money in it
early, versus the RESP that only has 5-15 years to grow. The RESP can be funded at the last moment. The RESP should not be invested as aggressively because if you only have 10 years until you withdraw it, you will want to be more conservative anyway. Meanwhile that money in the RRSP could be earning higher rates of return because you don't need it for decades.
Just start before the year your kid is 16!! That is very important to getting any grant money.
Right now, a 4 year degree, without room and board, costs $24k to $26k in Vancouver area. To get this, you would contribute $5k a year when your kid is 14-17. Tuition is increasing at only 2% a year, and the increase is controlled by the BC Government, typically tied to CPI somewhat.
So, unless you intend to fund a huge masters degree or ship your kid out of province, you don't need a ton of education money saved.
ETA -- I see Prairie Stash answered the Questrade question - no to the BC grants at Questrade. Prairie Stash is an excellent resource on here! I was (almost) caught by this with a big national bank, too, for another province. I assumed all banks would do all grants. Nope!