The Cap on International Students Is Working, And Colleges Are Bracing for the Impacts
https://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/the-cap-on-international-students-is-working-and-colleges-are-bracing-for-the-impacts/
By Pari Johnston, President & CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada.
In fact, publicly available data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that international student applications are down 36% year over year.
For CICan members in particular – Canada’s network publicly funded colleges, institutes, cégeps, and polytechnics – applications are down as much as 54%.
In 2022 alone, international students contributed $30.9 billion to Canada’s economy and supported 360,000 jobs.
Canada needs to pause and reassess how these abrupt policy changes could undermine the sustainability of a sector vital to the public good.
The path forward is thoughtful policy-making that recognizes the interconnectedness of international students, colleges, and institutes within Canada’s broader economic and social landscape.
That stream supporting our economy is slowing. We’re not seeing the impacts yet, but they’re coming.
This article suggests that the sky is falling and "could undermine the sustainability of a sector vital to the public good".
National Post shows a different story.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/foreign-student-permits-are-already-outpacing-2023s-record-numbers
Foreign student permits are already outpacing 2023's record numbers.
IRCC numbers say Canada handed out 216,620 international study permits in the first five months of 2024.
According to numbers curated online by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada handed out 216,620 international study permits in the first five months of 2024.
Just 200,205 study permits were handed out during the same time period in 2023.
By the end of 2023, 682,420 study permits had been granted to foreign students.
Canada has been granting the vast majority of permits to India, with 278,335 going to students from that country in 2023, a number nearly five times more than to students from China, the second-highest country of origin, who were granted 58,230 permits in 2023.
Canada’s third-most popular source of international students in 2023 was Nigeria, with 37,575 permits handed out in 2023, followed by the Philippines with 33,830, and Nepal at 15,920.
During the first five months of 2024, Indian students were granted 91,510 permits, more than the 85,805 granted over the same period last year.
Chinese students received 21,240 permits in the first five months of this year, compared to 15,565 granted between January and May 2023.
Nigerians received 12,450 study permits by May 2024, up from 8,150 by May 2023.
For the Philippines, 10,140 permits were granted so far in 2024, up from 9,300 over the same period of time last year.
Looks like the colleges will continue to enjoy the huge surplus of cash the foreign students bring to them.
