Canadian Varsities Worry Over Decreased Permits For International Students

Some Canadian Universities have expressed concerns over the government’s decision to issue fewer permits to international students.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, had announced that the Canadian Government will set an intake cap on international student permit applications.

The Canadian government stated that rapid increases in the number of international students arriving in Canada puts pressure on housing, healthcare and other services in the country.

However, Arlene Dunn, the minister of post-secondary education, Training and Labour of New Brunswick, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that the move was unfair.

“The changes are very concerning for our government, and we are not in favour of this move that unfairly targets all provincial jurisdictions when not all are experiencing the same problems,” said Dunn, adding that New Brunswick “is paying the price for the problems that exist in other parts of the country.”

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The president of Université de Moncton, Denis Prud’homme, also told CBC that having fewer international students will result in higher tuition for everyone because institutions rely so heavily on money from international students.

“35 per cent of the school’s student body is international, many in the administration and nursing programs.

“With 35 per cent of the school’s operation budget coming from tuition, a reduction in international students could mean higher tuition overall,” he said.

“There is a risk if the student bodies decline that an institution [would] potentially have to increase their tuition,” Prud’homme added.

LEADERSHIP reports that there exist a high difference in tuition fees for domestic and international students (differential fees) in Canada.

International students contribute about C$22 billion ($16.4 billion) annually to the Canadian economy.