Canada's Justin Trudeau government has announced a 35% cut in international student admissions for the year 2024:
Students from many countries around the world dream of going to Canada for studies, the dreams of those students have been given a blow to Canada by the Justin Trudeau government, the government has announced a 35% reduction in the number of students coming from outside Canada.
Due to the housing crisis in the year 2023 itself, Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller had hinted at reducing the number of residential students.
Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller:
Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller has stated that, “Ahead of the September 2024 semester, we stand ready to take the necessary measures, including limiting visas, to ensure that designated educational institutions provide fair and adequate admissions as part of the educational experience.” Provide student support. This limit will not apply to master’s and doctoral students, nor to primary and secondary school students. This limit has been imposed only for 2 years, it will not affect the students currently studying in Canada. After this cut, 3,64,000 visas will be issued for international students.
why did the Justin Trudeau government of Canada have to impose these restrictions?
Canada has been a favorite country for international students for many years, one reason for which is that it is much easier to get a work permit after completing studies in Canada compared to other countries. But due to the continuous increase in the number of international students, the number of apartments for rent is decreasing drastically, due to which the rent is increasing very rapidly. According to Statscan, rents across the country increased by 7.7% in December compared to a year earlier.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s popularity has declined mainly due to the affordability crisis, and opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has taken a huge lead over Trudeau in opinion polls ahead of next year’s election.
How will it affect Canada’s economy?
International students contribute approximately C$22 billion ($16.4 billion) annually to the Canadian economy. The move will hurt many educational institutions that had expanded their campuses in anticipation of a continued influx of students.
Ontario, the most populous province, received the largest share of international students. Some businesses, including the restaurant and retail sectors, have warned that placing limits on foreign students would lead to shortages of temporary workers.
A lobby group told Reuters last week that restaurants across Canada are facing a labor shortage with nearly 100,000 vacancies, and 4.6% of the 1.1 million workers in the food service industry in 2023 were international students.
Canadian banks benefited from the influx of new students, as each student was required to have a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of more than C$20,000, a prerequisite for international students to cover living expenses.
How will this decision of Canada's Justin Trudeau government affect Indians?
According to official data for 2022, the majority of foreign students, about 40%, come from India, with China coming second with about 12%. It is clear from this that the largest number of international students going to Canada are Indian students, and the largest number of affected people are also going to be Indian students.
From September 1, 2024, international students who undertake a study program that is part of the course licensing arrangement will not be eligible for a postgraduate work permit upon graduation. Under curriculum licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that is licensed to deliver the curriculum of an affiliated public college. These programs have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, although they have less oversight than public colleges and operate as a loophole with respect to post-graduation work permit eligibility.
Graduates of master’s and other short graduate-level programs will soon be eligible to apply for a 3-year work permit. Under current norms, the duration of a postgraduate work permit is based solely on the length of an individual’s study program, hindering master’s graduates by limiting the time they have to gain work experience and potentially transition to permanent residence.