Canada’s cap on international students is hitting harder than expected with Universities Canada warning the country is driving away the talent it needs most.
“The most important thing for people to know is that Canada has proven it can bring down the number of newcomers entering the country dramatically and quickly,” said Gabriel Miller, the group’s president and CEO, in an interview with CTV News Channel Monday. “What remains to be seen is, can we keep the people we want?”
Canada’s international student program has been under mounting scrutiny amid surging student numbers, housing pressures and growing asylum claims.
Canada’s auditor general has also launched a probe into the program and is expected to present a report to Parliament in 2026.
Last year, Ottawa announced a temporary two-year cap on international students to reduce levels by 35 per cent in 2024 and another 10 per cent in 2025, meaning 437,000 permits will be issued this year, with that same target continuing into 2026.
The cap is national, with each province assigned its own quotas based on its population.
Ottawa has also tightened spousal work permit eligibility, limiting it to spouses of master’s degree students whose program is at least 16 months long, and to spouses of foreign workers in certain sectors with labour shortages.
“Nobody is debating the need to limit the number of people coming into the country, and nobody is asking the government to revisit its decision to set lower immigration targets, including for international students,” Miller said. “We need talent, and right now, too much of that talent is going away from Canada, and at the moment we need it most.”
Universities Canada says enrolment has dropped well beyond the government’s intended target, blaming it on a number of factors.
“We’re keeping out way more of the people we wanted to keep, and we’re going way past the targets in the cap that their government originally set and that’s because, frankly, there’s been so many changes,” Miller said.
“There’s such long waits in our visa processing system, and Canada’s reputation has taken such a hit that a lot of the best and brightest who we need to come here are looking at other options.”
Miller urges the government to come up with a recovery plan, urging Ottawa to fix the visa processing system, rebuild Canada’s image and bring governments, businesses and educators together to target critical labour gaps.
“The cap was emergency surgery, and it’s time for the patient to start recovering,” he said. “(We need to) start reminding the world that this remains an outstanding place to invest, to study, to work, and we want the best and brightest here.”