In search of solutions to the housing shortage plaguing the country, Ottawa finally imposes a national cap on the number of foreign students accepted into Canada for two years.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller made the announcement Monday morning, during the retreat of the Trudeau government’s cabinet of ministers, in Montreal.
With this measure, around 360,000 study permits will be granted in 2024, a decrease of 35% compared to 2023.
In 2022, more than 800,000 international students had temporary study visas. Last fall, Mr. Miller indicated that this figure would reach 900,000 in 2023, a record in the history of the country and more than triple that of barely ten years ago.
“These temporary measures will be in effect for two years and the number of new study permit applications that will be accepted in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of this year,” Minister Miller explained in a press briefing.
Graduate, master’s and doctoral students, as well as primary and secondary studies, are not affected by this ceiling. The latter will also not apply to current study permit holders, it is specified.
The leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, insists that the solution to the housing crisis must be mathematical: we cannot admit more immigrants than there are new constructions.
Ottawa “misses its target”
This ceiling will also be weighted for each province according to population “for the sake of fairness”. Ontario, for example, will have to reduce the number of permits by 50%, Mr. Miller said.
The Legault government will have the capacity to increase [le nombre de permis]. Ditto for the territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the minister, “the problem” lies mainly in the provinces where “the numbers are disproportionate”, such as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia.
“We will continue to work closely with these provinces and territories to put these measures in place, as they will be responsible for determining how the cap will be distributed among the designated educational institutions over which they have jurisdiction,” he said. -he announces.
According to François Legault’s government, the federal announcement “will only have a limited effect on the situation in Quebec.” “Once again, the federal government is missing the target,” said Quebec Minister of Immigration Christine Fréchette in a written statement sent to the DutyMonday.
“The urgency for Ottawa is to act quickly on the asylum seekers’ file. It must better distribute the reception of these people across all the provinces of Canada and reimburse Quebec for the expenses incurred in recent years,” indicated the elected CAQ member.
In addition to the capped number of permits, international students from schools following a public-private model will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit from 1er September of this year. Students who obtain a higher education degree will be able to apply for a 3-year work permit.
Also, only the spouses of international students enrolled in higher education programs (master’s or doctoral) will now be entitled to an open work permit.
A retreat of “incompetents”
The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre did not miss the opportunity to criticize the retreat of the Trudeau government, accusing it of “spending a fortune” to “talk about the same things that he talks about and that he did not not managed to do for 8 years.”
On Monday, the Conservative leader also attacked the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, present at the event. Last week, Mr. Poilievre called her and Quebec Mayor Bruno Marchand “incompetent mayors” and accused them of “blocking construction sites.”
“How incompetent. One day she said that municipal housing has nothing to do with the federal government. Two days later, she said the exact opposite,” Mr. Poilievre wrote on his social networks on Monday.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser did not comment on the 37% drop in housing starts in Montreal compared to 2022. “It is unbelievable for a politician to call a mayor incompetent. “It’s inappropriate,” he responded.
“Tighten the screws” on Mexican asylum seekers
Faced with the “huge flow” of people from Mexico seeking asylum, Minister Miller believes it is time for Canada to tighten the screws on these nationals.
In a letter sent last week, Prime Minister François Legault urged his counterpart, Justin Trudeau, to curb the influx of asylum seekers, otherwise Quebec will reach its “breaking point.”
“A breaking point, I don’t know. But a turn of the screw is necessary, agreed Minister Marc Miller. Two provinces suffer disproportionately, and that’s Quebec and Ontario.”
According to Mr. Miller, Ottawa is nevertheless making “an effort” to “redistribute” asylum seekers in different parts of the country.
For the moment, no decision has been taken in Ottawa, which is continuing its reflections on the approach to recommend. “Mexico is one of our main economic partners. So, a diplomatic approach is necessary,” he added.
“No matter what decisions we make with Mexico and other countries around the world, my job is to manage diplomatic relations. Of course, we have a good relationship with Mexico and we will continue to have one,” added Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, also present in Montreal.
The ministers’ retreat ends on Tuesday, after which all federal parties will hold caucus meetings. The parliamentary session will resume on January 29.
The new measures in brief
With François Carabin and Marco Bélair-Cirino