Will the Cap On International Students Help Canadians and Foreign Students?

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In 2023, nearly one million international students came to Canada with the hope of receiving a high-quality education. Approximately half of them were met with fraudulent activity by various universities and institutions and faced difficulties settling in the country, according to an announcement by Minister of Immigration Marc Miller on Jan. 24. In response to this, the Government of Canada is implementing a two-year cap on international students in the country to ensure they receive the education they came for. 

Although this cap is intended to help Canadians and current international students by fixing issues in the housing market and the economy, many believe it will have little to no impact.

Miller announced the cap applies to international students who plan to attend elementary school, secondary school, or complete undergraduate degrees. It does not apply to students completing graduate degrees like master’s and doctorates, because “these are the highly skilled people Canada needs,” he said. Work permit and study permit applicants must also submit attestation letters from a province or territory confirming that students have been accounted for under their provincial and territorial allocations, according to Parsai Immigration Services. 

International student intake is set to reduce by 35 per cent in 2024, and only 360,000 people will be admitted. Each province receives an allotment based on its population to admit students. According to Miller, the numbers may fluctuate for 2025 and will be assessed later this year. 

Former immigration minister Sean Fraser told Global News the federal government had been discussing this cap for quite some time after seeing a large growth in students beyond what most communities and institutions could handle. 

Trailing behind Ontario, British Columbia is the province with the second-largest international student population. BC has been given 83,000 study permits for 2024, which has raised many concerns for Premier David Eby. He believes the smaller allotment will reduce the services offered, as he wants more international students to study the professions the province requires. “We can’t have this cap impacting our healthcare system or the availability of childcare, or the ability to build the homes that we need,” Eby told reporters.

BC continues to impose restrictions on international students in accordance with the cap. According to a report released on the BC government website, they have banned new post-secondary institutions from applying to enroll international students for the next two years. To prevent international students from overpaying for their education, the province also mandates post-secondary institutions to post estimated student tuition levels throughout their studies. This shows institutions' history of charging students a lot more than they should. 

In his federal statement, Miller said that many institutions across the country are underpaid by the province. To compensate for this, schools tend to lure in international students and charge them more than they would charge domestic students. According to Statistics Canada, in the 2022–23 year, the average domestic student paid $6,834 in tuition for one semester while the average international student paid $36,123. 

The BC government also imposed minimum language requirements at private training institutions so incoming international students are better prepared for their educational and professional journey.

International students have expressed mixed reactions to Miller’s announcement. Many believe this cap will be beneficial and some wonder why the government didn’t act before, according to The Globe and Mail. They believe the cap will subsidize the cost of their living accommodations and make it easier to find work. 

However, some students believe that all the blame for Canada’s issues is being shifted to international students. Sally Rho told BNN Bloomberg that areas like the housing market were still at their all-time highs when immigration was at its lowest. Jasmine Le feels the same way and believes “the problem is that we have to have a better policy for housing.”

According to Statistics Canada, residential property prices in 2020 increased by 6.3 per cent where immigration was minimal. In 2023, around 1 million immigrants were admitted to this country, and according to a report released in February by Royal LePage, national aggregate home prices increased 4.3 per cent year-over-year in 2023.

After the cap is put in place, even the few students that are granted one of these limited study permits will face difficulties. The cap is intended to apply to both foreign students and their families, which means that families will be separated. International students like Rho commented that “families deserve to be together. So we're calling on the federal government to reverse this decision.” 

Despite being positioned as beneficial for the Canadian economy, the cap raises many economic concerns. According to Miller’s office, international education provides $22 billion to the economy and supports more than 20,000 Canadian jobs. 

The upcoming decline in income after the cap is put in place concerns many economists, including Randall Barlett. In a report released in early January, he outlined the effects of reducing the number of international students on the economy. He wrote that decreasing the number of temporary residents, which also pertains to international students, increases the chances of a recession this year and will lower Canada’s gross domestic product. 

As a result of the announcement in January, many institutions have expressed concerns about the new policy’s impact on their resources and operations. According to The Globe and Mail, Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada wrote a joint letter to Miller highlighting the negative impacts that the cap will have on institutions across the country. 

One of their main concerns stem from institutions already receiving enrollments from international students for the 2024–2025 fall term. Since most applications will not be accepted, most students will turn to other countries which will “pos[e] a significant risk to Canada’s post-secondary sector and hinder our [universities and institutions] efforts to attract global talent for years to come.” They ask the government for immediate consultations to modify the cap and lessen the negative impacts that may arise such as the funding cuts for certain programs.

Miller said in his announcement the government is undertaking “blunt measures” with this cap to see how it may turn out and hopes it will help Canadians and international students.