Why Housing Crisis Has Made Canada Consider Cutting Foreign Students Intake

Canada is considering a cap on the number of international students living in the nation, said Immigration Minister Marc Miller. As per a report by CTV News, the decision is being taken based on the growing unemployment and housing crisis in the country.

In his interview with the Canadian Network, Mr Miller claimed that the government is looking at the possibility of setting a cap on international students to reduce the housing demand in both the first and second quarters of this year.

Mr Miller noted that the international students coming to Canada are outpacing the number of homes the federal government is planning to help build. He added that the need to bring down the average age of the workforce also needs to be taken into consideration.

Without going into the specifics, Mr Miller said a cap on international students is something the federal government is considering, "and will continue to consider."

Marc Miller said, “We have a sense of what those numbers would look like, what the reduction of those numbers look like, out of courtesy to my colleagues in the provinces, those are discussions that we're first going to have around the negotiating table.”

Earlier, the federal government was criticised for welcoming an increasing number of immigrants, when Canada was facing an acute housing shortage. This applied to both permanent and temporary residents.

A report by The Canadian Press cited internal documents revealing that two years ago public servants warned the federal government that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardise housing affordability.

The report was referring to the government's target aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.

According to a report in BBC, in 2022 the country accepted a record number of international students—more than 800,000, which is an increase of 75 per cent from five years ago.

As per The Conversation, the Canadian post-secondary institutions in 2023 were expected to welcome about 900,000 international students, compared to around 240,000 in 2011.

The report claimed that the universities have voiced their opposition to this cap decision that could threaten their bottom line.

This opposition doesn't come as a surprise as international students reportedly contribute over $22.3 billion per year to the Canadian economy. In addition, they are a major source of the workforce and talent needed to replenish Canada's ageing population.