Immigration minister says struggling universities must ask provinces for help

Immigration Minister Lena Diab rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

HALIFAX — Canada’s immigration minister says universities and colleges struggling to balance the books after federal cuts to the international student program will have to turn to their provincial governments for financial help.

Lena Metlege Diab told a crowd in Halifax Friday that the post-pandemic immigration boom helped employers struggling to find labour, but it also put unsustainable pressure on the health care system, housing and other services, which Canadians noticed. Now she says the government is looking for a better balance, and part of that is curbing the number of international students.

The number of foreign students in Canada dropped from over a million at the beginning of 2024 to about 700,000 by November 2025, said the minister.

“We are on a path to stability and predictability which is what we promised the sector we (would) do and we will honour that in 2026 and 2027 to ensure that they do well. With respect to financial (support) and so on, I would direct them to contact the provinces,” she told reporters.

She said Canada will issue about 408,000 study permits next year, which should result in further reductions as the current crop of international students graduate.

The minister noted some international students weren’t even attending classes, and were just seeking a way into the country.

“We heard a lot from students who were not receiving what they thought they were going to receive,” Diab told a crowd at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce luncheon. “Quite frankly, in other parts of the country… there was quite a bit of fraud happening from international recruiters and bringing too many people here.”

Universities across the country are struggling with the reduced number of international students, which typically pay much higher tuition costs than Canadian students.

This week, for example, Newfoundland’s Memorial University announced it was selling off several buildings, including its campus in England, as it seeks to cut spending by more than $20 million. Diab said she understands post-secondary institutions are concerned, but said provincial governments are responsible for any financial help the sector needs.

The minister says Canada wants the number of non-permanent residents in the country, a group that includes international students as well as temporary foreign workers, to fall below five per cent of the total population. The figures stood at 6.8 per cent at the end of October, she said, down from 7.6 per cent a year earlier.

Diab noted she has removed the cap on PhD and graduate students, along with their families, for 2026 to help support Canada’s economic goals. “We recognize that we need them here to grow our economy,” she said. “And we also recognize that when you’re coming as a graduate student and a PhD student, you’re obviously coming for that purpose. And so I think that’s a great start for now.”

By Devin Stevens

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2026.