OTTAWA - Colleges and universities across Canada are bracing for financial challenges as the federal government plans to cut the number of international student visas. This decision comes as provincial governments await details on new immigration targets.

Spenser Maki, a communication adviser for Ontario Immigration Minister David Piccini, expressed concerns about the impact of these changes. "The federal government’s decision to unilaterally proceed with another change impacting international students continues to force post-secondary institutions in Ontario, and across the country, to make difficult decisions regarding their long-term success and sustainability," he stated in an email.

Post-secondary institutions have already faced budget cuts this year due to declining revenue from international student tuition, which is typically four to five times higher than that of domestic students. Maureen Adamson, president of Colleges Ontario, warned that these cuts are likely to persist. "The steep decline in federal international study permits will cut up to $2.5 billion from Ontario’s colleges, which have already lost 8,000 jobs and 600 programs. At the same time, Ontario needs 33,000 health-care workers and 154,000 tradespeople in the coming decade," Adamson noted.

The latest update to the government’s immigration levels plan reduces the target for new student visas to 155,000 for the next year, a significant drop from over 305,000 in the previous year’s plan. Immigration officials are expected to announce provincial and territorial allocations for student visas soon.

Both the British Columbia and Ontario governments have indicated they will collaborate with the post-secondary sector to develop more sustainable funding models. The federal government aims to reduce the number of temporary residents to five percent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027, down from a peak of approximately 7.5 percent in late 2024.

A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada clarified that the student visa cap does not apply to master's and doctoral students. This exemption acknowledges their "unique contribution to Canada’s economic growth and innovation," the spokesperson said.

To attract more international talent for specialized research roles, the federal budget introduces an International Talent Attraction Strategy, allocating $1.7 billion over 13 years to recruit researchers from abroad to Canadian universities. Larissa Bezo, president of the Canadian Bureau for International Education, commented on the strategy, stating it aims to bring in more "quality students" to fill essential economic roles.

"There is a clearly stated objective of trying to align Canada’s immigration system with those strategic labour market demands and strengthening pathways that help connect global talent to actual opportunities, national opportunities that exist in the Canadian context," Bezo explained.

The International Talent Attraction Strategy also includes a plan to expedite immigration applications for PhD students and their families, aiming to process their paperwork within 14 days. Bezo emphasized that easing the immigration process for families of doctoral students and researchers will enhance Canada’s appeal to highly mobile talent.

"I think for those of us in the sector, we fully appreciate these are critical contributors to driving Canada’s innovation and growth agenda at a time when we really need to be leaning into that and further leaning into securing our sovereignty and our future prosperity," she added.

While the talent attraction plan is seen as a positive step, Bezo urged the federal government to also focus on attracting skilled tradespeople to address labor shortages in those areas.