In response to concerns that Canada’s education system is attracting so many international students that it is exacerbating strain on housing and the labor market, the Government of Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is enacting new measures to tighten standards on institutions.

Starting with the fall 2024 semester, colleges and universities will be required to meet more outstanding standards for services, assistance, and results for overseas students, according to a framework introduced by Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Friday, October 27 2023, according to Bloomberg. 

According to Miller, schools that reach the higher standard will be given precedence when processing student visas, with one of the requirements being suitable housing. Beginning on December 1, institutions will also need to verify each applicant’s acceptance letter with the Canadian government immediately, he added. 

He clarified that after it was discovered that hundreds of Indian immigrants had unintentionally entered Canada with forged college acceptance letters, the procedure was created to combat fraud. Miller’s department will also examine and implement changes to the post-graduate work permit program in the upcoming months to make sure it still satisfies the demands of the job market.

According to Bloomberg, there is rising concern that Canadian educational institutions depend too much on international students for funding. It was for this reason that the idea was announced.

The average cost of attendance for international students is five times more than that of Canadian students. As a result, foreign-only institutions have appeared in shopping centres and makeshift structures, most notably in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, Ontario, where Miller made his statement on Friday, October 27 2023.

At a press conference, Miller stated, “We know that there has been consistent underfunding of post-secondary education, particularly by provinces, depending on the province, over the years – and institutions are smart and have adapted to that.” 

“International students have occasionally been assessed opportunistic fees to close a gap that is very strange and shouldn’t exist in a country like Canada”.

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Due to the fall in government financing as a percentage of income, which occurred from 42% in 2001 to 35% last year, post-secondary institutions have become increasingly dependent on tuition fees. The largest province in the nation, Ontario, has likewise prohibited Canadians from paying tuition for the last three years.

International students paid 37% of the tuition at Canadian universities in 2019–2020 but 68% of the tuition at colleges in Ontario in 2021, according to estimates.

Conversely, many international students view admittance to college as a means of obtaining permanent status in Canada. Although Trudeau’s administration had considered capping the number of visas granted to international students, Miller shot down that notion on Friday. 

In the past ten years, the number of international students in Canada has tripled, reaching more than 800,000 in the most recent year.

Miller claimed that in imposing a visa cap, the federal government should not “stomp in and pretend that it has all the answers” since the experiences of overseas students are too complicated. According to him, the provinces are primarily responsible for accrediting educational institutions.

He declared, “To ensure that we all perform our duties effectively, the federal government is stepping forward and throwing open its arms to our territorial and provincial partners.” “If that task is too difficult, the federal government is equipped to complete it.”

According to Miller’s office, Bloomberg reported that the annual contribution of international education to the Canadian economy is over C$22 billion ($16 billion), which is higher than the country’s exports of aircraft, lumber, and car components. Additionally, this contribution sustains over 200,000 jobs. 

However, the flow of international students has made housing shortages worse, leaving many people without enough housing, and it has oversaturated labor markets in some areas where there isn’t enough employment. Nearly 1,550 study permit applications were linked to false acceptance letters, according to Miller, whose revelation seemed directed at private universities and immigration consultants suspected of taking advantage of international students for financial gain.

About 450 applications were approved; in the majority, the fraud was discovered, and the application was turned down. Some were found to be actual students after more investigation, while others, according to Miller, were victims who had mistakenly acquired forged admission certificates.