With Over 40% Indian Pupils & Doubling Sikh Population, Canada Mulls Cap on Int'l Students | Effect Explained

Faced with a “disconcerting” housing crisis, the Canadian government is mulling a cap on the number of international students. In an interview with CTV News, Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller expressed concern about the current volume of around 900,000 international students.

Miller argued that this is a conversation the federal government will need to have with provincial wings “to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis.” “That volume is disconcerting,” Miller said about the number of international students in Canada. “It’s really a system that has gotten out of control.

Popular study destination

Canada is a popular destination for students since it is relatively easy to obtain a work permit. It relies on immigration to fuel its economy and assist an aging population. However, the surge in migrants and international students is held responsible for the housing crisis, intensifying the growing demand for homes. The government has faced criticism for welcoming an increasing number of immigrants while the country faces an acute housing shortage.

The Liberals have set targets aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026, according to CTV News. Temporary residents, mainly consisting of international students and migrant workers, make up another aspect of the scenario. According to The Globe and Mail, official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in 2022, up from 275,000 in 2012.

Last August, the Liberal government for the first time floated the idea of capping the number of foreign student visas. A few months later in December, Canada introduced significant reforms to its study permit requirements. The changes include a sizable increase in the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applicants.

Indian Students

A significant number of international students in Canada hail from India, as per data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). By the end of November last year, they constituted 215,910 out of the total 579,075, making up over 37%. Nearly half of the 32,000 tech workers who moved to Canada between April of 2022 and March of 2023 originated from India, according to a recent report by the Technology Councils of North America.

India reportedly has been the largest source country for international students since 2018. Notably, the share of the Sikh population has more than doubled in the country in the past two decades as a large number of people have migrated from India in search of higher education and jobs. But increasing financial requirements and a cap on international students may result in a shift in this trend.

Reverse Immigration?

In the first half of 2023, 42,000 people left Canada, adding to the 93,818 departures in 2022 and the 85,927 exits in 2021, according to official data. The rate of immigrants leaving Canada hit a two-decade high in 2019, according to a recent report titled The Leaky Bucket from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC).

Immigrants blame the skyrocketing housing costs as the biggest reason for their decision to consider a new country. “While the fairy tale of Canada as a land of opportunity still holds for many newcomers, this study points to burgeoning disillusionment. After giving Canada a try, growing numbers of immigrants are saying ‘no thanks,’ and moving on. In that sense, these findings are about so much more than immigration. They offer a reflection on the state of our entire society, affecting all of us,” said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of ICC in a report released on Oct 31.

“For Canada to prosper, we must make our society as attractive as possible to people from around the world whose skills, perspectives, and contributions make all the difference to our future. This is a matter of vital national interest. Because when newcomers succeed, Canada succeeds,” he added.