Canada’s colleges and universities – many of which will likely face limits on the number of international students they can admit due to ongoing caps on study permits – will be able to apply for low-interest loans this fall. interest in building more student housing.

“Canada needs more student housing and we will help build it,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced Monday. 29.

The plan is to allow Canada’s post-secondary institutions to apply under the Apartment Construction Loan Program, with the Rental Housing Construction Financing Initiative having been renamed since late November last year.

Ottawa injected an additional $15 billion into the apartment construction loan program last fall, bringing the total funding available to $40 billion, but is not currently investing additional money to finance more student residences.

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International students have been blamed at least in part for Canada’s housing crisis, which saw the average rent in Canada rise to a record high of $2,178 per month in December last year.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) response to the housing crisis was to announce that there will be a cap on the number of study permits, thereby reducing the number of new international students coming to Canada .

“The cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 study permits approved, a 35 percent decrease from 2023,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller was quoted as saying. “In the spirit of fairness, we also allocate cap space by province, based on population.”

Under the proposed cap on study permits, provinces and territories will each have a limit on their capacity to welcome new international students.

The proposed limits will allow some provinces to increase their international student populations while significantly reducing them in other provinces, including Ontario.

The proposed cap on study permits was announced the same week that the eligibility requirements for post-graduation work permits (PTPD) were changed. Under the new criteria, students attending certain private colleges may not be eligible for PTPD after graduation.

” From September onwards. 1, international students who begin a program of study that is part of a program licensing agreement will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit after graduation,” notes IRCC.

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“Under program licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the program of an associated public college. These programs have experienced significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, although that they are less monitored than public colleges and that they constitute a gap when it comes to eligibility for post-graduation work permits.

The immigration minister reiterated in January that international students are essential to Canada and enrich communities, but insisted Ottawa has an obligation to ensure they have access to the resources they need to live an enriching academic experience.

“In Canada today, that’s not always the case,” he said. “Today we are announcing additional measures to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it is open to abuse.

Faced with the prospect of a cap on study permits, provinces pledged to improve their oversight of the treatment of international students, but also warned that Ottawa’s proposed cap could lead to the closure of some colleges and universities .

British Columbia’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Selina Robinson, is among provincial politicians who have pledged to take a series of steps to improve quality controls for international students.

British Columbia Minister of Post-Secondary Education laments lack of student housing in the province

She said Radio-Canada she is dismayed by the actions of some post-secondary institutions in the province that recruit students with the promise of guaranteed housing and classroom instruction.

“The student does everything right and he comes in without housing or support, and in fact, I’ve heard of cases where there was no classroom,” Robinson was quoted as saying.

“We are going to demand a lot more accountability from these private institutions.”

Ontario’s Minister of Advanced Education, Jill Dunlop, agreed.

“We know that some bad actors are taking advantage of these students by promising them false guarantees of employment, residency and Canadian citizenship,” she was quoted as saying. “We have been talking with the federal government about ways to crack down on these practices.”

Across the country, some colleges and universities are bracing for an economic hit as the number of international students, all of whom pay higher tuition fees than Canadian students, declines.

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CIC) is concerned about the impact of caps on study permits on post-secondary institutions.

“This approach, described by Minister Miller as a ‘blunt instrument’, will have far-reaching consequences across the sector, particularly in key regions, including the possibility of layoffs, closures and increased labor costs. education – which will inevitably affect Canadians and Canadians alike. and international students,” the CIC reportedly said.

“Chronic public underinvestment in post-secondary education is putting Canada’s world-class system at risk. Without significant reinvestment, we risk worsening the challenges facing the Canadian economy and society, particularly in the context of fierce global competition.