Canada to further cut international student and foreign worker permits.
Canada declared Wednesday it was cutting international student permits next year, and hardening foreign worker rules to further decrease the number of temporary residents in the country.
This initiative comes after several recent rounds of restrictions aimed at curbing record immigration levels that pushed Canada’s population past 41 million earlier this year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has pointed to the high immigration as straining the country’s housing sector, jobs market and social services.
Also read: Canada considers tighter rules for international students; details here
“It is a privilege to come to Canada. It is not a right,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told a news conference.
In 2025, Ottawa plans to issue 437,000 study permits to international students, down from 485,000 this year and more than 500,000 in 2023.
The country is also working to introduce new limits on work permits for spouses of some international students and foreign workers.
And it will be stepping up checks before issuing travel visas to stem a spike in fraudulent or rejected asylum claims.
Also read: Canada changes immigration policy. Who will be affected?
Ottawa has already said it would reduce the number of temporary residents to five percent of the population, down from 6.8 percent in April.
