International student allocations for provinces and territories

 The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, issued the following statement:

“On January 22, I announced a national cap on study permit applications to address the rapid increase of international students in Canada. Provincial and territorial allocations for 2024 have now been finalized. I would like to take this opportunity to share those figures and explain how we made these decisions.

Net zero first year growth model

“The national cap is based on the amount of expiring study permits this year. This means that the number of international students coming to Canada in 2024 should be the same as the number of students whose permits expire this year. For 2024, the target is 485,000 approved study permits.

“About 20% of students apply for an extension each year and remain in the country. Therefore, IRCC subtracted that amount (97,000) from the target of 485,000 and set aside a small buffer to allow for other variations, resulting in a revised target of 364,000 approved study permits in 2024.

“Accordingly, based on the national approval rate of 60% for study permit applications, the target of 364,000 approved study permits translates into a cap of 606,000 study permit applications received for 2024.

“Some international students are exempt from the cap, such as primary and secondary school students and master’s or doctoral degree students. IRCC deducted the estimated volume of these groups (140,000 based on 2023 data) from the 2024 target number of approved study permits. This resulted in a target of 236,000 approved study permits for 2024, which converts to roughly 393,000 study permit applications to be allocated.

Finalizing provincial and territorial allocations

“IRCC distributed the adjusted number of study permit applications, 393,000, based on the population share of each province and territory. Under this model, some provinces and territories would get more students in 2024 than in 2023, while others would see fewer new students.

“For provinces that would receive more international students in 2024 than in 2023 based on population share, we adjusted their allocation to limit growth to 10% compared to 2023.

“For provinces that would receive fewer international students in 2024 than in 2023, we adjusted their allocation to lessen the negative impact in the first year and support broader regional immigration goals.

“IRCC also topped up allocations for provinces whose approval rate was lower than 60%. The top­-ups will help provinces with lower approval rates reach their expected number of approved study permits in 2024.

“As a result, a total of about 552,000 study permit applications have been allocated to provinces and territories under the national cap. These allocations are expected to yield approximately 292,000 approved study permits, representing a 28% reduction from 2023 for the groups included under the cap.

“Many variables may influence the number of new international students who arrive in Canada in 2024, for example

• provinces and territories with room to grow may not end up using their full allocations
• approval rates may change
• in-year adjustments may be required

“These results will help me make decisions on allocations for 2025. I have included the full allocation model below.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to strengthen the International Student Program and to provide international students with the supports they need to succeed in Canada.”

ALLOCATION MODEL

Zero net growth (one-out, one-in)
Study permits expiring in 2024 (all cohorts)	485,000
Exempted groups and buffer	-249,400
Target new study permits approved 2024	235,600
Assumptions
Approval rate	60%
Allocations (# of applications)
Cap space allocated to PTs	392,667

	SPs Issued (2023)		Distribution by Population Share
Province / Territory	Excluding K-12 + Grad	All Levels of Study	Population Share Footnote1	PT Allocations	Projected SPs Approved	% Change from 2023
Alberta	22,306	34,903	11.67%	45,824	27,495	23%
British Columbia	60,864	101,576	13.66%	53,638	32,183	-47%
Manitoba	10,155	13,848	3.62%	14,215	8,529	-16%
New Brunswick	6,186	10,354	2.09%	8,207	4,924	-20%
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,290	3,218	1.35%	5,301	3,181	147%
Northwest Territories	4	39	0.12%	471	283	6968%
Nova Scotia	8,604	13,813	2.62%	10,288	6,173	-28%
Nunavut	3	5	0.10%	393	236	7753%
Ontario	239,753	291,609	38.81%	152,394	91,436	-62%
Prince Edward Island	1,336	2,115	0.44%	1,728	1,037	-22%
Quebec	39,663	64,044	22.34%	87,722	52,633	33%
Saskatchewan	6,569	9,990	3.07%	12,055	7,233	10%
Yukon	82	225	0.11%	432	259	216%
Total	404,668Footnote2	559,091Footnote3	100%	392,667	235,600	-42%

	Allocation After Initial Adjustment			Final Allocation After Top-Ups for PTs with Approval Rate Below 60%
Province / Territory	PT Allocations (A)	Projected SPs Approved (B)	% Change from 2023	Top-Up (C)	Revised PT Allocations with Top-Up (A+C)	Projected SPs Approved (same as B
Alberta	40,894	24,537	10%	N/A	40,894	24,537
British Columbia	83,000	49,800	-18%	N/A	83,000	49,800
Manitoba	15,233	9,140	-10%	3,420	18,652	9,140
New Brunswick	9,279	5,567	-10%	5,372	14,651	5,567
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,365	1,419	10%	788	3,153	1,419
Northwest Territories	333	200	4900%	N/A	333	200
Nova Scotia	12,906	7,744	-10%	7,472	20,378	7,744
Nunavut	333	200	6567%	N/A	333	200
Ontario	235,000	141,000	-41%	N/A	235,000	141,000
Prince Edward Island	2,004	1,202	-10%	308	2,312	1,202
Quebec	72,716	43,629	10%	45,202	117,917	43,629
Saskatchewan	12,043	7,226	10%	3,011	15,054	7,226
Yukon	417	250	205%	N/A	417	250
Total	486,523	291,914	-28%	65,572	552,095	291,914

For further information :

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2024/04/minister-miller-issues-statement-on-international-student-allocations-for-provinces-and-territories.html