Canada is reevaluating the issuance of long-term visas to foreign students, reflecting the government’s intent to curb immigration and manage population growth. Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that federal and provincial officials are in discussions to align labor market demands with the influx of international students.
While Canada has traditionally leveraged its universities and colleges to attract educated, working-age immigrants, Miller emphasized that study visas should not be misconstrued as guarantees for future residency or citizenship. “That should never be the promise,” Miller remarked. “People should be coming here to educate themselves and perhaps go home and bring those skills back to their country.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under increasing pressure due to rising living costs, housing shortages, and higher unemployment rates. In response, Canada has already capped the number of international student visas, anticipating fewer than 300,000 new permits this year, down from approximately 437,000 last year.
Officials are now scrutinizing which students should remain in Canada post-graduation. Miller highlighted the need to ensure that jobs for international students align with their field of study, reflecting provincial labor needs. “The logic for having uncapped or uncontrolled draws from abroad is no longer there,” he noted.
Government data indicates that the number of new Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders in Canada rose to 132,000 in 2022, a 78% increase from four years earlier. Any changes to immigration policy will require extensive discussions among governments and businesses, Miller added.
Trudeau’s administration is also scrutinizing the temporary foreign worker program to address its misuse and aims to reduce the proportion of temporary residents from nearly 7% to 5% of the population. Recent protests by foreign workers in Prince Edward Island, including hunger strikes, have highlighted tensions over reduced permanent residency nominations.
Miller acknowledged that Canada is perceived as less welcoming to students than before. However, he asserted that a study visa should be seen as a qualitative opportunity rather than a straightforward path to permanent residency. Following a roundtable with local media in Surrey, British Columbia, Miller expressed concerns about emerging signs of racism in Canada. “We’ve built a very important consensus around immigration in Canada, but that’s being chipped away at,” he warned.
This shift underscores the government’s effort to balance immigration policies with the country’s economic and social realities.
