OTTAWA: Canada is looking at the possibility of putting a cap on the number of international students to help reduce the surge in demand for housing and to fix the system that has gone out of control, immigration minister Marc Miller said, a move that is likely to affect Indian students.
TOI reported about the plan to limit student visas in its December 9 edition.
Justin Trudeau’s government has faced criticism for welcoming more immigrants – both permanent and temporary – during an affordability crisis that has caused the cost of housing to spike.
“That volume is disconcerting,” Miller said in an interview with CTV News on Sunday, referring to the rise of foreign student visas in Canada. “It’s really a system that has gotten out of control.” He said the federal government will have “conversations” with the provincial governments “to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis”. The number of foreign students in Canada has nearly tripled in the past decade, reaching more than 800,000 last year.
Miller said he will be looking in both the first and second quarter of this year at possibly setting a cap on foreeign students. He, however, didn’t reveal the size of the reduction the government is planning. India was the first among the top ten origin countries of study permit holders in 2022 in Canada, with a total of 3,19,000 students.
A new report by Canadian Press news agency – citing internal documents – shows the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardise housing affordability. Trudeau’s Liberals Party government has set targets aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
TOI reported about the plan to limit student visas in its December 9 edition.
Justin Trudeau’s government has faced criticism for welcoming more immigrants – both permanent and temporary – during an affordability crisis that has caused the cost of housing to spike.
“That volume is disconcerting,” Miller said in an interview with CTV News on Sunday, referring to the rise of foreign student visas in Canada. “It’s really a system that has gotten out of control.” He said the federal government will have “conversations” with the provincial governments “to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis”. The number of foreign students in Canada has nearly tripled in the past decade, reaching more than 800,000 last year.
Miller said he will be looking in both the first and second quarter of this year at possibly setting a cap on foreeign students. He, however, didn’t reveal the size of the reduction the government is planning. India was the first among the top ten origin countries of study permit holders in 2022 in Canada, with a total of 3,19,000 students.
A new report by Canadian Press news agency – citing internal documents – shows the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardise housing affordability. Trudeau’s Liberals Party government has set targets aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.