Federal immigration cuts leave B.C. with drastically fewer international students than forecast: report | CBC News
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An Auditor General of Canada report has found that B.C. saw drastically fewer international students than was forecast ever since wide-ranging federal immigration cuts began in 2024.
Those in the post-secondary sector say it’s leading to program cuts, faculty layoffs and even varying effects on smaller towns and workforces.
According to the auditor general’s report released Monday, B.C. expected to see an 18 per cent drop in study permit approvals in 2024 — but it actually saw a reduction of 66 per cent.
In colleges and universities that relied on international students’ higher annual fees, the steep drop in international student numbers have meant significant program cuts.
Dale McCartney, a University of the Fraser Valley professor who has researched years of international student policy in Canada, said the report’s findings weren’t a surprise.
“It’s very clear how few people in Ottawa are actually thinking about this from the lens of what serves international students, what serves Canadian communities, what serves, you know, universities or colleges,” he said.
McCartney argued the impact of the cuts is greater on smaller colleges, in addition to smaller communities as a whole.
The academic said the drastic drop in international admissions will mean, in a few years, there could be a generation of post-secondary students who have very few international colleagues — which McCartney argued will lead to a lack of global perspectives.
“The reality of Canada is that we are totally dependent on temporary residents. They run our businesses … they are a huge part of the energy of this country,” he said.
“I would say it’s a very poorly conceived policy that was created haphazardly. And the effects of it are very clear,” he added.
Canada’s auditor general says the federal government may have stopped too many international students from coming to Canada. Two years ago, Ottawa promised to reduce the numbers, citing pressure on housing and health care, and expressed concerns that shady post-secondary schools were exploiting students. The CBC’s Katie DeRosa has more on the consequences for B.C.
Colleges making cuts
North Island College, which has multiple campuses on Vancouver Island, has already announced multiple program cuts and staff layoffs as it faces an $8.4 million-decline in international revenue by 2027.
Jen Wrye, the president of the North Island College Faculty Association, said a “considerable proportion” of the college’s faculty were being laid off due to “mismanagement and poor decision-making” from governments.
“We are in the thick of closing down programs that have either high demand and or important economic outcomes for this region and for this country,” she said.
More faculty positions are being cut at post-secondary schools across B.C., like Langara College and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, as a result of new government policies that reduce the number of international students. As Kier Junos reports, several schools say it’s due to the drop in international enrolment.
While the report noted the effect of the severe drop in students in smaller provinces, Wrye argued they also disproportionately affected smaller communities within large provinces like B.C.
“At a time of broader economic uncertainty, I would say that the [immigration] reductions reinforce regional stagnation, and especially in communities that are already struggling with population retention and labour shortages,” she said.
The federal government’s cap on new international student admissions has taken a bite out of many post-secondary institutions across Canada. Joy Johnson, the president of Simon Fraser University, said that she was knocking on the doors of the federal and provincial governments to guarantee sustainable funding for the sector.
Provincial report expected
Rural areas across B.C. have said for months that they’re dealing with labour shortages, and that the reduction in international students means rural towns will be disproportionately affected.
The federal government has announced rural employers can apply to have more low-wage temporary foreign workers under a temporary plan until March.
But the program needs a province’s request, and B.C.’s premier has indicated he wouldn’t support the federal plan as he pushes for more provincial control in the immigration system.
Responding to the auditor general’s report on Monday, Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said the province wants more control over immigration targets and more pathways to permanent residency.
“We need to make sure that we have a thoughtful immigration plan that looks at the spaces for international students so they can come and help grow our ecosystems,” he said.
The AG report surveyed provincial governments who said they felt “general dissatisfaction” with the federal reforms to study permits.
“Provinces also reported to us that they were not informed of their allocations in a timely manner in either 2024 or 2025, which impacted their ability to plan for the changes,” the report said.
On Tuesday, the province announced a four-month-long independent investigation into the state of B.C.’s post-secondary institutions. As institutions are battered by a drop in international students and staff layoffs, Post-Secondary Education Minister Jessie Sunner says a majority of institutions are projecting budget deficits and it was time to take a holistic look at how the sector was doing.
In its response to the report, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it would work with provinces to support better usage of their study permit allocations.
The B.C. government has launched its own review into the sustainability of the post-secondary sector in the wake of massive layoffs.
A report on the matter is expected later this month.