Waterloo region's post-secondary schools concerned about international student cap

A cap on the number of international students who will be permitted to study in Canada is concerning to post-secondary schools in Waterloo region and officials say they need more details on how exactly it will work.

Conestoga College's corporate communications director Brenda Bereczki emailed a statement to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo which said the college worries the timeline for such a substantive change might be too short.

"The fall 2024 recruitment is already well underway and such large changes may affect students already in Ontario, as well as those who have applied or already received offers of admission," the statement said.

Conestoga College said it plays a large part in filling southern Ontario's labour market gaps. The statement said sectors like health care, various trades, manufacturing and more rely on graduates from the school and could be hurt by the study permit cap.

Rebecca Elming, a spokesperson for the University of Waterloo, said that while there is a need to ensure the safety and proper education of international students, the intake cap could affect the university.

"We are, however, concerned about the implications of this decision at the undergraduate level, especially in light of the current financial challenges that our institution and our sector are facing," her statement said.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced on Monday that the federal government would limit the number of study permits assigned to would-be international students.

Miller said the federal government's two-year temporary cap would see the number of international study permits drop to 360,000, which is a 35 per cent decrease from 2023.

Move OK with some students

Kashish Rana is an international student studying at Conestoga College in Kitchener. He said the intake cap might benefit international students already studying here in Canada.

"It's a mess," he said.

Rana has been in Canada since September. In that time, he said his quality of education has suffered from the overwhelming amount of new international students.

"Too many students, classes being shuffled, new teachers," he said. "I think the country needs to take a pause."

Abdullah Bin Halais also studies at Conestoga College. He said international students like himself are feeling the strain of Canada's affordability crisis.

"There is some housing crisis going on right now and a lot of students are not getting jobs," he said.

Bin Halais said he's on the fence about the federal government's decision.

"I believe it has good points and bad points," he said. "Good point is students will now be able to get jobs. Bad point is somebody who has dreams to come to Canada, their dreams might, you know, fall short."

Rana said the word about Canada's lack of part-time job opportunities is spreading back home in India.

"A lot of people are going to be kind of unhappy who have had this dream of coming. But from a practical point of view, I feel it's a good decision," he said. "I'm not a Canadian, so I need to think from the Canadians perspective."

'These students play a vital role'

Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, issued a statement Monday saying the council was "disappointed" with the announcement "as it may have unintended consequences for the sector and for international students."

"Universities have welcomed international students for decades. These students play a vital role within the social and economic fabric of Ontario and its communities," Orsini said.

The University of Guelph's associate vice-president of communications Deirdre Healey said in an email to CBC News that while only six per cent of the university's student population is international students, the school is committed to "guaranteed housing for all incoming international students."

Aonghus Kealy, a media relations officer at Wilfrid Laurier University, said the university's goal is to ensure international student growth is "sustainable, ethical and aligned with the student experience the university is known for."

Kealy added the school provides guaranteed housing for first-year international students and some relocation services at no cost to students in need.