The federal government has moved to slam the brakes on the runaway growth of Canada鈥檚 international education program.
But it remains to be seen whether new measures announced Monday 鈥 from restricting access to work permits for foreign students and their spouses, to capping the number of study permits issued nationwide 鈥 will be enough to rescue a system that Immigration Minister Marc Miller himself has described as having 鈥渓ost its integrity.鈥
Observers question whether Ontario and other provinces will now step in to fill school funding gaps that may result from a decrease in the number of international students paying lofty tuition fees, and, further, whether the changes will affect Canada鈥檚 standing as a destination for those to study abroad, or weaken the labour market.
“It’s an indictment on what the program became,”聽said 海角社区官网immigration lawyer and policy analyst Mario Bellissimo. “Fair enough. But what do you want the program to be, aside from alleged lower numbers? That’s the big missing piece.”
Starting Sept. 1, Miller said Monday, Ottawa will stop issuing post-graduation work permits to international students who 聽complete programs provided under so-called Public College-Private Partnerships. Further, the spouses of most international students will no longer be granted work permits, with the exception of those studying in graduate schools or in a professional program such as medicine or law.
Miller was searing in his comments regarding private colleges 鈥 some of them operate out of shopping plazas and are not equipped to provide a good education.
“It is not the intention of this program to have sham commerce degrees and business degrees that are sitting on top of a massage parlour,” Miller told reporters in Montreal. “This is something we need to rein in 鈥 Those institutions need to be shut down.”
The measures come along with confirmation that Canada will implement a two-year cap on international study permits 鈥 news first reported by the Star on Friday 鈥 with an aim of reducing the number issued by 35 per cent from 2023’s level, to 364,000. The cap won’t apply to students for master’s and doctoral programs or in elementary and secondary schools; the intake level will be reassessed in 2025.
Miller said each province will be assigned work permits according to its relative population in Canada, and must decide how it divvies them up among the schools authorized to take in foreign students.
Ontario and British Columbia will be most affected by those rules as they are home to 51 per cent and 20 per cent of Canada’s international students respectively.
鈥淲e know some bad actors are taking advantage of (international) students with false promises of guaranteed employment, residency and Canadian citizenship,鈥 said Ontario Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been engaging with the federal government on ways to crack down on these practices, like predatory recruitment.鈥
A blunt cap on international students “would have a negative impact on Canada’s reputation, Canada’s ability to grow, and our ability to attract top talent into the country,” said Philip Landon, president and CEO of Universities Canada.
SuppliedPhilip Landon, interim president and CEO of Universities Canada, which represents public and non-profit post-secondary schools , said聽Ottawa’s announcement 鈥済oes a long way鈥 to addressing their concerns, and applauded the move to put an end to work permits for graduates of private-public college programs.
鈥淭here are some good measures which we applaud, and others we’re still unsure of because the devils are in the details,” said Landon, who worries the changes could affect universities鈥 bottom lines depending on how provinces implement the cap.
Schools, especially in Ontario, are already under significant strain and will need added revenue from provincial governments, he added. His members are also concerned the need for letters of attestation from each province for study permit applications, effective Monday, could significantly affect processing times and drive prospects to other countries.
Colleges and Institutes Canada said these policy changes could lead to layoffs, closures and increased post-secondary tuition fees 鈥 hurting both Canadian and foreign students. 聽
It is “imperative that these changes be implemented with care,” warned the advocacy group for public colleges and institutions. “Chronic public underinvestment in post-secondary education puts Canada’s world-class system at risk. Without significant reinvestment, we risk compounding the challenges facing Canada’s economy and society.”
According to Ontario’s Public Accounts, revenue from fees paid to the province’s public colleges grew more than $1 billion last year, from $3.4 billion in 2022 to $4.4 billion in 2023. The province’s auditor general has also warned that the freeze and reduction in tuition paid by Canadians at Ontario post-secondary institutions “appears to have contributed to universities becoming financially dependent on international student enrolment.”
The fast-growing international student program has been in the spotlight amid aggressive recruiting by the post-secondary education sector, and by unregulated foreign agents. Migrants increasingly look at studying in Canada as a backdoor to working and earn permanent residence here.
The affordable-housing crisis and rising cost of living have seen many international students struggling to find work and shelter; some have turned to聽food banks.
“These measures are not against individual international students,” said Miller. “They are to ensure that as future students arrive in Canada, they receive the quality of education that they signed up for.”
A Star investigation found the growth of international student enrolment in recent years is primarily at public colleges because they offer shorter programs and cost less than universities but, unlike private colleges, still provide access to coveted post-graduation work permits.
The public-private college partnerships, authorized by the Ontario government, allow taxpayer-funded colleges to provide curriculum at a fee to their private career college partners, which hire their own instructors to deliver the academic programs.
Jaspreet Singh, founder of the International Sikh Students Association.
Jaspreet Singh photoGraduates from the private colleges then receive a public college credential, making them eligible for post-graduation work permits as a pathway for permanent residence. At least 11 of the 24 Ontario public colleges are partnered with for-profit private career colleges in the GTA, and those enrolled are almost exclusively international students.
Gabriela Ramo, chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration law section, said provinces should shut down subpar institutions, to protect study permit applicants from studying in these schools but later finding out they don’t quality for post-graduation work permits.
She said if an academic program doesn’t lead to the work permit, the school should declare that in its acceptance letter to the student and the Immigration Department, which she said has a responsibility to remind applicants of that fact when they apply for student visas.
“Our biggest concern with it is transparency,” said Ramos. “We feel very strongly that communication has to be greatly enhanced.”
The non-profit Canadian Bureau for International Education said these measures give the impression that Canada is closing its doors and can cause irreparable harm to country’s EduCanada brand.
“If the national understanding of the value of (international education) erodes over immediate concerns about housing or health care, we all lose over the long term,” said the group, which is the national voice advancing Canadian international education. “Canada needs smart solutions, not simplistic ones.”
Jaspreet Singh of the International Sikh Students Association said there are both public and private institutions that have taken advantage of international students, and misinformation has been a big issue. Despite the political will, he’s not sure these measures will weed out all the bad actors.
“There are so many shady consultants back home,” said Singh. “They will always find a way to exploit the system.”
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