Canada to Reduce Permits for International Students and Foreign Workers

Canada plans to lower the number of permits issued to international students and foreign workers as part of efforts to address housing shortages and infrastructure pressures. The move aims to balance the country’s immigration intake with available resources, particularly in high-demand regions, while maintaining a sustainable approach to population growth. This policy shift could impact educational institutions and labor markets.

The government has committed to lowering the proportion of temporary residents to 5% of the total population, down from 6.8% in April.

‍Ottawa: Canada is cutting back on the number of study permits it will issue to international students and tightening work permit eligibility to reduce the number of temporary residents, the government announced on Wednesday.

This comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, lagging in public opinion polls after a significant by-election defeat, aims to lower the number of temporary residents, including foreign students and workers, in the country.

The issue has become a hot topic in Canadian politics, with a federal election set to occur no later than October 2025.

The changes will reduce international study permits to 437,000 by 2025, down from 509,390 in 2023, according to immigration department figures. In the first seven months of 2024, 175,920 permits were issued.

Additionally, the reforms will limit work permit eligibility for the spouses of some students and temporary foreign workers.

With an increase in refugee claims, the government also announced plans to review visa measures to improve fraud detection and tighten visa integrity, stating that it is "reviewing visa decision-making so that our highly trained officers have the right tools to detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors."

"Not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to, and not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to," said Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

The government has already committed to lowering the share of temporary residents to 5% of the population, down from 6.8% in April.

Temporary residents, including migrants, have been blamed for issues like a lack of affordable housing and rising living costs, despite inflation reaching the Bank of Canada's target of 2% annually in August.

Advocates for immigrants and some economists argue that blaming migrants for economic struggles is overly simplistic, as they cannot be solely held accountable for complex financial challenges.

Polls reveal a growing public concern that Canada is accepting too many immigrants, with anti-migrant rhetoric and attacks increasing in a country once celebrated for its openness to newcomers.

After years of increasing the number of temporary residents, the federal government is now reversing course.

In January, the government introduced a two-year cap on international students, whose approvals are expected to decrease by nearly half this year.

Earlier this month, the government rolled back 2022 expansions to the temporary foreign worker program, limiting the maximum proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers in certain sectors. It also prohibited the use of low-wage temporary foreign workers in areas with high unemployment rates.

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Source: NDTV‍