On January 22, 2024, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced a cap on the number of new study permits to be issued annually for international students wishing to study in Canada. Full details are available here.
This cap will be temporary, remaining in place for two years. It is expected to result in a 35% reduction in the number of study permits issued for 2024, with the federal government stating it will approve 360,000 undergraduate permits this year.
Cap space will be distributed amongst the provinces, proportionately with population. This will result in provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia seeing up to a 50% decrease in international students.
The cap will not apply to graduate or professional students, nor will it apply to those applying for study permits at the elementary or secondary school level.
Alongside the cap, changes to work permit availability for students and their families were also announced. Beginning September 1, 2024, postgraduate work permits will no longer be available to public-private institution models. Further, the availability of open work permits for accompanying spouses of international students will be curbed, with only spouses of graduate or professional students being eligible.
These new limits may negatively impact the future Canadian labour market, which is already suffering significant gaps and relying on the availability of foreign workers in many sectors. However, there remains some good news on the horizon for Canadian employers looking to fill labour shortages with local foreign workers. The announcements made on January 22, 2024, come in the wake of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's December 2023 announcement that full-time international students already in Canada, and those who submitted a study permit application prior to December 7, 2023, will continue to be able to full-time work off-campus until April 30, 2024. This policy was initially set to expire on December 31, 2023.
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