'Provinces are going to have to step up': Reaction to Canada's plan to cap international student permits

With the announcement that Canada will reduce the number of new international student permits by 35 per cent next year as part of a two-year cap on foreign enrollment, stakeholders in Ottawa are voicing their concerns.

"The impact of the visa cap is likely to be major. The federal government imposes a cap on the provinces, so we will be initiating discussions with the provincial government to better understand the real impact on our university," said Ricky Landry, a spokesperson for the University of Ottawa.

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"The University of Ottawa is generally able to find a spot in residence for most of the international students who need it. International students enrich our university community and communities across Canada when they decide to settle here after their studies."

Meanwhile, student leaders tell CTV News the move will force the Ontario government to step up in order to address impending financial gaps.

"We hope to see a strong response from the provincial government. They are ultimately what got us here," said Delphine Robitaille, President of the University of Ottawa Students' Union.

"Their chronic underfunding of post-secondary institutions is what lead universities to basically use international students as cash cows. Now that universities can't rely on them anymore, provinces are going to have to step up. They'll just have to."

Ontario's Minister of Colleges and Universities tells CTV News the province recognizes that some post-secondary institutions are leaning far too heavily on the increased tuition fees international students are forced to pay.

"International students play an important role in our communities, providing meaningful benefits to Ontario and our post-secondary institutions. That said, we know some bad actors are taking advantage of these students with false promises of guaranteed employment, residency, and Canadian citizenship," said Jill Dunlop in a statement to CTV News.

"We've been engaging with the federal government on ways to crack down on these practices, like predatory recruitment. We also need to work together to ensure the students coming to Canada receive an education that is responsive to Ontario's labour needs, especially in the skilled trades."

Roughly 30 per cent of the U of O's student body comes from abroad, according to Robitaille, and that is a story that is not exclusive to Ottawa.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the number of international students has more than tripled over the past decade.

While the reduction is 35 per cent overall in new study visas, Ontario could see reductions greater than 50 per cent.

Data provided to CTV News by Mike Moffatt, senior director of the Smart Prosperity Institute, shows Ottawa's big three post-secondary institutions don't even come close to others in the province when it comes to the number of approved international student visas between January 2022 and April 2023.

• Algonquin College – 5,052
• University of Ottawa – 3,689
• Carleton University – 1,611

Elsewhere, some institutions brought in far more students from abroad.

Conestoga College in Kitchener for example saw 31,412 international student visas during the same 16-month window while the Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto had 14,996.

Still, in Ottawa, the money that comes in from students from abroad is crucial.

"There's a real worry happening about the fact that international students who have basically been used as cash cows by our institution are funding many of the programs and services and education for local students because the university is basically at cost for local students," said Robitaille. "International students pay the bulk of the tuition, so there is a very real worry about what's going to happen now."

Miller says this cap is not intended to punish international students. Instead, it's intended to ensure they receive a valuable experience and education.

"International students are a valuable asset to this country," he said.

"They are bright, young individuals that enrich our communities and bring significant social, cultural and economic benefits. They deserve the best. They deserve (the) world-class academic experiences that they sought out and hoped for. And Canada is renowned for that."

"Sadly, this has not always been the case," he added.

Miller said it is "unacceptable that some private institutions" have "taken advantage" of international students, claiming schools have jacked up tuition prices while, in some cases, offering low-quality education.

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

--With files from CTV's Alexandra Mae Jones