Lethbridge post-secondary schools facing international student cuts

A 40 per cent drop in international students creates new financial challenges for Lethbridge postsecondary schools.

The federal government had originally allocated over 300,000 international study permits for 2025.

That’s now planned to be slashed to 155,000 and down to 150,000 from 2026 to 2028 as part of the proposed budget.

It’s a big change for local schools, which had come to expect sizeable international enrollment every year.

“Pretty consistently we had about 1,200 international students for the last few years. Now we’re down to about 700 -- so a 40 per cent decline in international students,” said Lethbridge Polytechnic registrar, Marko Hilgersom.

The measure is meant to relieve pressure that’s been put on housing and public healthcare.

That loss of students is causing headaches for local post-secondary schools.

International undergraduate students can pay up to five times the tuition of domestic students.

Shortfall

Earlier this year Lethbridge Polytechnic faced an $8 million shortfall due to new student caps.

But the polytechnic is adjusting to this new reality.

“Domestic student enrollment is our focus, it’s always been our focus. International just kind of came, we didn’t plan on it happening. It happened. So now we’re planning on continuing to develop programs that are attractive to domestic students,” said Hilgersom.

While overall numbers have been cut, new initiatives are making it easier for some applicants to apply.

These include faster processing times for doctoral applicants and streamlining work integrated opportunities.

The University of Lethbridge supported those new measures saying in a statement “collectively, these actions will help ensure that international education continues to play a vital role in supporting Canada’s economy and advancing its research capacity.”

International students in Canada peaked at over one million in 2023.