Despite the tightening of policies for international students, CBIE president and CEO Larissa Bezo believes the sector has been afforded an opportunity to “recalibrate” following a period of exponential growth.

Addressing a gathering of stakeholders at the ICEF Monitor 2024 event in London, UK, Bezo took the opportunity to offer a panoramic perspective to the global audience, detailing how the country has arrived at its current state in terms of policy and international student numbers.

At the close of 2023, Canada was home to over one million international students, with the number of international students in the country growing by 185% over the last 10 years, prompting the federal government to bring in a cap on study permits.

In the two years prior to this announcement, the country was seeing a 30% year-on-year growth in international student numbers, Bezo detailed.

The government’s most recent crackdown is not just on the country’s international students. Canada has also seen tremendous growth in other categories of immigration and by the end of 2023 there were over 2.5m temporary residents in Canada – around 40% of which were international students.

Hence the government’s latest changes, driven by IRCC’s overall goal of reducing temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5%. 

Although the new measures are set to squeeze the cap on study permits even further, many believe the most significant impact for the sector will be in the government’s shake-up of its PGWP program, which will be updated to align with immigration goals and labour market needs, as well as controlled via language competency tests.

Under the new rules, only college graduates whose work is linked to areas of high labour market demand will qualify for a three-year PGWP.  

Although many of the details are yet to be seen, including which programs and courses are eligible for PGWP, Bezo is keen to send the message that Canada remains a welcoming destination for international students.

She spoke of the importance of framing a global narrative – one that shows that institutions still have plenty of capacity and a strong desire to host international students and importantly, one that is “fact-based” when it comes to value of students in Canada’s campuses and communities.

However, the reality is that not every student will be in a position to come to Canada, said Bezo.

“But we want to be realistic about those opportunities and be very transparent about that pathway,” she added.

“We are going through a period of recalibration, a resetting. It affords our sector an opportunity to plan so that we can do this in a more managed and intentional way.”

We are going through a period of recalibration, a resetting
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Bezo believes that fostering greater collaboration between policymakers and institutions will better position the sector as it charts its next steps.

“We certainly perhaps wouldn’t have chosen the announcement and the policy changes,” she told The PIE News.

“That being said, our hope is that we will see more clarity for students who are trying to make choices as they consider Canada as a destination and with that clarity, we hope that they will be set up for success in terms of that pathway, should they choose to pursue postgraduate work.”

Also speaking at the event, Marie Braswell, associate vice president for global strategy and market development at Centennial College, said that even though she does not agree with the government’s method of rolling out such changes, she is in favour of efforts to fill labour market gaps.

Long term, she predicts a successful system, one to be proud of, and one that enhances not only the economy but student success.

However, Braswell doesn’t underestimate the way in which the adjustments could shape and size program offerings, predicting that many institutions will be forced to think hard about if they can continue to offer up to 200 courses that don’t fall under this category.

By November 1, immigration minister Marc Miller will announce the government’s newest Immigration Levels Plan for the next three years, when the sector expects to hear more details on the incoming changes. This is also the date that the newly-announced policies will come into effect.