Canada, in Policy Shift, Weighs Capping Student Visas

livemint.com:

TORONTO—The Canadian government is considering capping the number of international students it allows into the country as it scrambles to address a growing housing shortage. The move would mark a shift by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has made boosting immigration central to his economic agenda.

The pivot comes amid increased criticism that he has failed to deal with the housing shortage that is driving up home prices in the Group of Seven country with the lowest number of dwellings per capita. The number of foreign students at Canadian universities and vocational colleges is set to hit record levels this year.

Government ministers have said that the numbers are increasing demand for housing, causing rents to rise in cities and towns already struggling to house existing residents. Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller, said at a cabinet retreat held last month that the government is considering several options to curb the influx of foreign students, including “the potential for looking at a cap." “The micro-inflationary pressure that international students present in certain areas of the country, notably in big cities, is real," he said.

Trudeau faced criticism for comments he made last month when he said that housing was a provincial, not a federal issue. Amid declining poll numbers, he recently focused his cabinet retreat mainly on the housing crisis and said that fixing the issue was a priority.

The Canadian government has set an ambitious target for immigration into Canada. It is seeking to give permanent-residency status—Canada’s version of the U.S.’s green card—to 465,000 immigrants this year, increasing the target to 500,000 in 2025, which would be roughly a 25% increase from 2021 numbers.