21.46°C Vancouver

Jan 22, 2024 3:05 PM - The Canadian Press

Canada to cap the number of international study permits by 35 per cent: Miller

Share On
canada-to-cap-the-number-of-international-study-permits-by-35-per-cent-miller
Students applying to masters and PhD programs will be exempt from the cap. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

Canada will reduce the number of international student permits by 35 per cent next year as part of a temporary two-year cap on foreign enrollment, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Monday morning.

The cap will cut the number of approved study permits in 2024 to 364,000. The 2025 limit will be reassessed at the end of this year.

He said the move would allow them to address institutions and “bad actors” who are charging exorbitantly high tuition fees for international students, all while increasing the number of international students they are accepting.

Students applying to masters and PhD programs will be exempt from the cap.

“Those are the bright people we need to retain,” Miller said.

He added that they would be allocating cap space by province based on population, meaning some provinces will see a sharper reduction in the number of international students permitted.

The federal government has faced pressure from provinces regarding the increasing numbers of non-permanent residents entering Canada while the country struggles with a housing crisis.

More than 800,000 international students were issued temporary study visas in 2022. Miller said last fall that 2023's numbers were on track to be more than triple the number accepted 10 years ago.

Miller stressed in his comments Monday that this cap is not intended to punish international students, who are “a valuable asset to this country,” but to ensure their experience and education is up to snuff. He added that it was “unacceptable that some private institutions” have “taken advantage” of international students by jacking up tuition prices.

Those institutions need to be shut down,” he said.

He added that post-secondary institutions have been “underfunded by our provinces” in many regions, potentially incentivizing institutions to charge higher tuition fees for international students since they have less leeway to increase tuition for domestic students.

The idea of a cap on the number of international students has been floated for months. Miller has previously noted that a cap would not be a “one-size-fits-all solution” to housing shortages, as inflation, a lack of public housing and barriers to new construction are all factors impacting the shortage as well.

Latest news

b-c-minister-bowinn-ma-tells-of-frightening-incident-at-her-constituency-office
BCJun 27, 2025

B.C. minister Bowinn Ma tells of 'frightening' incident at her constituency office

British Columbia's Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says there was a "frightening" security incident at her constituency office in North Vancouver early Friday. Ma says in a statement that all meetings and appointments at the office have been cancelled for the day. Her statement says that thankfully, nobody was injured, and she appreciates the concern expressed by community members. Ma doesn't describe the incident and says due to an active police investigation, she won't be able to provide more details about what happened. She says she wants to thank the officers who responded to the inciden
trump-terminating-trade-talks-with-canada-over-digital-tax
WorldJun 27, 2025

Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital tax

U-S President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada. The sudden termination is over Canada's plan to go ahead with its digital services tax on big U-S tech companies that do business here. The tax is set to take effect Monday but would be retroactive for the past three years, leaving U-S companies with atwo-billion-dollar U-S bill due at the end of the month. Trump says Washington will notify Canada about new tariff rates within the next week.
surrey-sikh-games-canada-2025-begin-at-tamanawis-park
BCJun 27, 2025

Surrey: Sikh Games Canada 2025 begin at Tamanawis Park

The Sikh Games Canada in Surrey began yesterday, June 26th. During the first days games, some interesting field hockey competition was witnessed in the under-10 category. Although the senior teams had also taken to the field this morning. The event, which started on Thursday, has not only the competition of different categories of field hockey as its main attraction, but also soccer, wrestling, volleyball, Gatka event, cultural performances etc. are also attracting people.Organizers say that this event, which started as a field hockey tournament in 2008, has now become one of the largest multi
canada-may-cut-student-visas-further
CanadaJun 27, 2025

Canada may cut student visas further

The Canadian government may cut student visas further. Immigration Minister Lina Diab is set to launch a consultation on immigration targets this summer, with a focus on student visas. This comes after the federal government last year announced a cap on study permits and a gradual reduction in the number of student visas. A spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says the government expects schools to only accept students they can support by providing housing and other services. Meanwhile, the main opposition Conservatives are already in favor of this cut, with the pa
big-trade-deal-to-be-signed-soon-between-washington-and-new-delhi-trump
WorldJun 27, 2025

Big trade deal to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi: Trump

US President Donald Trump says that a big trade deal is going to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi. He said this at the White House. Trump said that recently America has signed a trade deal with China and now a big trade deal is going to be signed with India as well. He said that everyone wants to deal with us. Trump said that we will have a very big deal with India. The President also said that the White House will not make a deal with every country. Trump said that to some we are just going to send a letter saying thank you very much, you will have to pay 25 to 45 percent t

Related News