TORONTO – Thousands of international students who were supposed to study in Ontario will miss the fall semester, after Ottawa announced cuts to study permits in Canada, due to “excessive pressures on public services” and a “shortage of accommodation”, both due to “too many presences” of foreigners in the country (this is the main justification given by the federal government). 

Glenn Vollebregt, president of St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., said – according to The Canadian Press – his college was expecting 1,600 new international students this fall, but only 775 are enrolled in courses. “This is not normal” said Vollebregt, who confirmed that many students had difficulty obtaining visas on time and the college approved deferment requests for about a third of students. “This is… the direct result of some of the federal policy decisions” namely the cutting of approximately 300,000 student permits.

Michael McDonald, director of government relations and policy for Canadian Colleges and Institutes, said colleges have expressed deep concern about declining international student enrollments this fall. He said – as The Canadian Press reports – the federal changes have brought uncertainty, both for schools, which rely heavily on tuition fees from international students, as well as prospective students, who are deciding whether to come to Canada to continue their studies.

In fact, the federal government’s policies are actually changing (for the worse)  Canada’s image abroad: now, potential international students doubt whether they will be able to obtain work permits after studying in Canada and whether they will be able to obtain permanent residency. So, probably many of them will choose other destinations, especially European ones, where there are fewer “obstacles” and more willingness to welcome young people who, in any case, represent an excellent business for any country.

Back at the colleges, Conestoga was expecting 1,400 international students but they postponed their fall programs to the winter semester. “These postponements may be the result of visa delays” said Brenda Bereczki, the college’s executive director of corporate communications.

Mohawk College, which has campuses in several Ontario cities, welcomed nearly 1,500 out-of-state students this fall, about 38 per cent fewer than last year, said Katie Burrows, vice-president for international students. And this decline implies lost revenue, namely that of registration fees. “”This year, we can manage it. Going forward, it’s going to be more difficult” said the vice president of the college which, moreover, has just opened a new 300-bed student residence in the center of Hamilton in anticipation of welcoming more international students, but only 60 students live there today. Oh… and the “housing shortage”?

Photo by Наталия Когут from Pixabay