Canada's international student cap could cost Ontario universities nearly $1 billion: COU

Federal limits on the number of international students permitted to study in Canada could cost Ontario schools close to $1 billion in lost revenue, the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) says.

In January, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Ottawa would reduce the number of international student permits issued in 2024 by 35 per cent as part of a temporary, two year program cap, amid a housing shortage and cost of living crisis.

Months later, in September, Miller said the cap was “here to stay” and would be lowered by another 10 per cent for 2025 and see 437,000 permits granted. The limit was also expanded to include master’s and doctoral students.

In 2022, more than 800,000 international students were issued temporary study visas.

Miller said the initial move would allow the federal government to address institutions and “bad actors” who were charging exorbitantly high tuition fees for international students. He also said that the measure would “maintain a sustainable level of temporary residence in Canada."

In a statement issued Friday, the COU said the cap, not including the recently announced changes in September, will result in financial losses for the 2024-2025 school year to the tune of $300 million. The group, which represents Ontario’s 20 publicly-funded universities, said those losses would double to more than $600 million the following year.

“While we recognize the federal government had to address the bad actors that recklessly increased international student enrolment without the necessary supports, this has resulted in significant collateral damage to universities, which will have untold implications for years to come,” COU President and CEO Steve Orsini wrote, noting that international students made up less than 20 per cent of all students at Ontario’s universities before the January announcement.

“It is critical that measures to reduce overall international student numbers target institutions that have seen irresponsible and unsustainable growth in recent years,” he added.

As such, the COU is calling on the federal government to “rebuild” Canada’s global reputation for attracting top talent and researchers, while also urging the province to prevent further cuts to international students.

“We will continue to work with government, industry and community partners to rebuild Canada’s global reputation to ensure we can attract the best and brightest from around the world to help build our economy,” Orsini said.