Ontario, Canada’s most popular province for international students, will see a smaller decline in the number of new study permits than previous estimates.
The province will have a 41 per cent reduction in study permits from 2023 levels, according to new government estimates released Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government earlier forecast Ontario to see a roughly 50 per cent drop due to the student cap announced in January.
| Province | Projected approved 2024 permits | per cent change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 141,000 | -41per cent |
| British Columbia | 49,800 | -18 per cent |
| Manitoba | 15,233 | -10 per cent |
| Nova Scotia | 7,744 | -10 per cent |
| Quebec | 43,629 | +10 per cent |
| Alberta | 24,537 | +10 per cent |
| Saskatchewan | 7,226 | +10 per cent |
The cap was distributed by population, but the government made adjustments. For provinces that would receive fewer foreign students this year, it tweaked their allocation to “lessen the negative impact in the first year and support broader regional immigration goals,” it said in the release.
For provinces that would receive more international students this year, it amended the allocation to limit growth to 10 per cent.
The number of new postsecondary study permits in Canada this year is expected to decrease by 28 per cent from 2023 for the programs facing new limits, which excludes master’s and doctoral degrees. That translates to about 290,000 new students arriving in Canada in 2024 under the cap.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the national cap should keep the overall number of international students in the country steady this year, with numbers of new permits matching expired ones.
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