As potential examples, a senior government source mentioned Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia.
A senior government source has revealed that the federal government intends to decrease the number of foreign students in specific provinces.
The provinces and Ottawa are jointly in charge of managing Canada’s program for foreign students. Provincial governments are in charge of overseeing colleges and universities, while the federal government grants student visas.
The government is considering provinces that admit more foreign students than their housing stock can accommodate, the source told Radio-Canada. The source mentioned British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Ontario in particular as potential examples.
Since they are not permitted to discuss the situation in public, CBC is not identifying the source.
According to the source, the government has discussed with some provinces enforcing stricter guidelines regarding which academic institutions can admit foreign students and capping the number of students in more crowded areas, but those discussions have not progressed.
According to the federal government, Canada is expected to welcome approximately 900,000 foreign students by the year 2023.
According to a minister, Ottawa may “rein in” the number of temporary residents as housing concerns grow.
ExameningThe issues of immigration and housing don’t have straightforward solutions.
In an attempt to address housing affordability, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has raised the possibility of placing a cap on temporary residents in recent weeks.
The amount of money that foreign students must demonstrate they have access to in order to apply for a visa was doubled by the federal government last month. The $10,000 requirement that applied to prospective students for 20 years has been replaced with the requirement that they demonstrate access to $20,635 per year.
Miller urged provinces to do more to assist in housing international students during a press conference held to commemorate the announcement. He also took issue with certain post-secondary institutions’ loose regulations.
At the December press conference, Miller stated, “There are, in provinces, the diploma equivalent of puppy mills that are just churning out diplomas, and this is not a legitimate student experience.”
Following multiple increases to annual immigration targets, the government declared in November that it would remain committed to a target of 500,000 new permanent residents by 2026.
Senior government officials had alerted the government last week, according to a report by The Canadian Press, that rising immigration would affect housing availability and affordability as well as services like health care.
