TORONTO — As post-secondary students get ready to return to campuses for the fall semester, Canada’s international student arrivals are tracking well below the target it has set for this year — resulting in Ontario colleges suspending programs and universities and student groups pushing Ottawa to hand out more study permits. Ottawa’s target for this year is 155,000 new international student arrivals, but data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows just 22,405 arrived during the first six months of 2026, tracking well below the full-year target. However, international student arrivals are highly seasonal and typically surge ahead of the fall semester. In January 2024, then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a temporary cap on international study student permits. There were 292,885 new international student arrivals in 2024 — followed by a more than 60-per-cent drop in 2025, to 115,005. That’s much lower than the target that was actually announced for 2025, at 305,900 new arrivals. The international student population has dropped one-third since 2024, according to an email statement from IRCC, with the goal of reducing pressures on housing, infrastructure, and services. “We are seeing those positive signs that recent measures are working,” Briannah Dale, spokesperson for IRCC, said in an email to CTV News. “A recent TD Economics report found that cuts to immigration levels have already eased the pressure on social and economic infrastructure, lowering condo demand for both home ownership and the secondary rental market,” added Dale. “Lower immigration rates have also caused a reduction in asking rents across major cities in Canada.” Colleges hit harder than universities Since the temporary cap was issued, Ontario colleges have been hit the hardest, with hundreds of programs suspended and thousands of job losses Centennial College has had a total of 61 programs suspended between the two years — 54 in 2025 and an additional seven this year. “Current students who are progressing through affected programs as scheduled can continue their studies toward completion and will have the opportunity to graduate,” said a Centennial College spokesperson to CTV News via email. Meanwhile, Fanshawe initially announced 40 program suspensions last year, followed by another 10 later that year and nine additional suspensions announced this March. “Over the last two years Fanshawe has experienced an approximately 40 per cent decline in total student term enrolments due to changes in federal policies related to international students,” a spokesperson from Fanshawe College told CTV News, which highlights it’s welcoming more than 2,000 international students this year. Algonquin College, meanwhile, approved the suspension or cancellation of another 30 programs effective this fall. Neither college responded to CTV News’ request for comment. “We’re seeing a decrease in the amount of students on our campuses, meaning there’s a decrease in services as well from that result in terms of students,” Georgina Cabrol, president of the College Student Alliance, said in a Zoom interview with CTV News Sunday. “From my perspective, we’ve seen a loss in our academic support, such as career services, loss of job employment for students on campus — and it’s just been quite a situation where individuals have been impacted in various ways.” Ontario initially cushioned universities from much of the impact of the federal cap. The province maintained 2023 application levels at 22 of its 23 universities, compared with just 11 of 24 colleges, saying its allocations would prioritize public programs supporting in-demand jobs. ‘Attracting higher-quality students’ In IRCC’s email to CTV News, Dale says that the current policy is focusing on attracting “higher quality students” and keeping the “world’s best talent” — highlighting that new arrivals of study permit holders at the university level increased by ten percentage points, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 40 per cent in 2025. “As overall international student admissions decrease, the proportion of university students relative to college students is increasing,” said Dale. “IRCC is expecting this trend to continue with new measures directed at graduate students in 2026 and a continued focus on attracting talent at the master’s and PhD level.” Data from the University of Toronto shows that although international student intake fell six per cent in the fall of 2024, the institution is now anticipating a nine per cent increase in its international student body this fall. “When it comes to Trinity, our number (of international students) generally is about 30 per cent,” said Kristen Moore, director of student experience at Trinity College to CTV News Sunday. “That’s been pretty consistent for us over the last few years.” “It’s fair to say that Toronto fared better than many other universities in the province and in the country, because of here of the international appeal of our programs is very strong,” said Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College at University of Toronto, Nicholas Terpstra, to CTV News Sunday. “We have not had the kind of fall-off, drop-off in international numbers of some other smaller universities have had.” More stringent requirements While universities have generally been less affected than colleges, international students who were accepted to Canadian schools say the process of obtaining a study permit has become more difficult. “I got my (student) visa in under 10 days, so it was very much a miracle for me to get it,” said Aurin Kabir, who is an international student at Toronto Metropolitan University, told CTV News Sunday. “But I know some students who are waiting for almost a year to two years for that visa — and to be honest, a very uncertain thing now.” The Bangladeshi student studying economics said the process of applying for a student visa from Canada has gotten even more “difficult” since the Canadian government limited the number of study permits it administers. “When I applied, you had to show proof of almost $25,000 Canadian — but before that it was only $15,000, so it’s almost double now,” she added. “We have to show in our bank that we had that much to cover our first year here in Canada, we have to show proof of assets and other stuff — and we have to show proof that we have intent to go back to Bangladesh after I’m done with my studies. You have to show that intent.” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requires a single applicant outside Quebec to demonstrate at least $22,895 for living expenses, in addition to tuition and transportation costs. That requirement rises to $23,448 for applications submitted beginning Sept. 1.
