Centennial College suspends 49 programs amid international student permit cap

Centennial College is seen in this undated photo. (CP24)

Another Ontario college is suspending dozens of its programs in the wake of the federal government’s move to cut international student permits that has led to a drop in enrolment.

Centennial College announced in a post on its website that 49 programs will not be accepting new students for the 2025-2026 academic year. More than half are from the college’s Business School and School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design. (See full list here)

The college, which has campuses across Toronto, said students currently enrolled in the programs being suspended will have the opportunity to graduate while upcoming students will get a communication letting them know of alternate program options.

“Like other colleges and universities, we are adapting to federal immigration policy changes that have had significant implications for our enrolments and finances within the current provincial funding and policy context,” said Dr. Craig Stephenson, the college’s president and CEO.

Stephenson noted in his statement to CP24 that the college considered graduate employment, enrolment demographics and labour market alignment as factors on how it decided which programs to cut.

He added the program suspensions will also mean unavoidable faculty and staff reductions.

“We are doing what we must to position the college for long-term sustainability, so that we can keep producing job-ready graduates aligned with labour market needs and continue to serve our communities,” Stephenson said. “We are proceeding with care as we work through what this means for our people.”

He noted that the suspensions leave an open possibility that the programs could be reintroduced in the future.

Centennial is the latest Ontario college that has announced program suspensions following the reduction in study permits. In November, Sheridan College announced it was suspending 40 programs and reducing staff while, Seneca Polytechnic said a month earlier that it was closing its Markham campus.

This year and in 2026, the federal government plans to further limit the number of international student permits to 437,000, a 10 per cent reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000.

with files from CTV News staff