Federal government to further limit number of international students

The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It’s the government’s latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians’ ongoing housing and affordability concerns.

In 2025, new international student study permits will be reduced by 10 per cent from the 2024 target of 485,000. That will mean 437,000 permits issued next year, with that same target continuing into 2026.

About 20 per cent of international students apply for an extension each year and remain in the country, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. This year’s national cap of 485,000 includes those students, along with additional study permit approvals.

Wednesday’s announcement follows a previous measure back in January, when Immigration Minister Marc Miller imposed a cap on international students over the next two years. At the time, Ottawa said it would approve about 360,000 undergraduate study permits – a 35 per cent reduction from the nearly 560,000 issued in 2023. 

Miller has previously called the international student system “out of control”– citing examples of abuse from some post-secondary institutions.

Earlier this year, Miller also announced a decrease in the number of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent over the next three years, down from the current 6.2 per cent.

The federal government has also signalled changes could be coming this fall to permanent resident levels.

In an interview with CTV News back in August, Miller said any upcoming changes to permanent resident levels will not be “cosmetic” but “significant.”

Statistics Canada said the country’s population in 2023 grew faster than it has at any time since the 1950s due to a sharp rise in temporary residents. Canada’s population surpassed 41 million people in the first quarter of 2024, to reach 41,012,563 on April 1, 2024.

More details to come…