Canada announces immediate two-year cap on new student permits - here's why

livemint.com:

housing crisis. The two-year cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits in 2024, a decrease of 35% from last year, the immigration ministry said in an official statement. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the federal government would work with the provinces, which oversee the educational system, to apply the cap, according to a report published by Reuters. He said the main reason for the cap is to protect students who attend colleges, which are often private-public partnerships that provide inadequate services at high costs, but also to ease pressure on housing and services.

Speaking to media persons, Miller said, “Some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking support for students and charging high tuition fees, all the while significantly increasing their intake of international students." “This increase is also putting pressure on housing, healthcare and other services. Fewer numbers would primarily help lower rent prices," he told reporters as quoted by Reuters. Housing costs have increased due to immigration-fueled rapid population growth that has put pressure on services like healthcare and education.

With polls indicating that he would lose an election if one were held right now, these issues have affected support for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The population grew at a faster pace in the third quarter of last year with non-permanent residents - mostly students - increasing by 312,758, the most in more than five decades. The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), a student advocacy group, criticized the cap.