The Canadian government, which is facing political challenges due to the increasing number of temporary migrants in the country, has made a big announcement on Wednesday. Canada has said that it will further reduce the number of foreign students in 2025. After this, the number of people coming here to study from other countries will be reduced by 10 percent compared to this year. In a press release, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that the limit of issuing study permits will be reduced from the target of 4,85,000 for this year to 4,37,000. These restrictions of 2025 will also apply to 2026. The Canadian government has also announced restrictions in other categories including temporary foreign workers and refugees.
These new restrictions have been imposed after people coming from outside are being blamed for rising inflation in Canada, rising house prices and pressure on basic needs like health and transport. Talking about these rules, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller said, “The truth is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will necessarily be able to come, just as not everyone who wants to stay in Canada can stay. We are taking this step to strengthen our temporary residence scheme and meet the demands of today’s changing scenario.”
Impact on Indians
This decision is expected to affect Indians the most. Talking about students, according to the data of the Government of India, 1,83,310 Indians were studying in Canada in 2022. A total of 5 lakh international students came to Canada in the year 2022. Out of these, 2,26,450 students were from India, that is, the share of Indians among the total international students was about 41%. In the year 2023, about 9 lakh international students were studying in Canada, out of which about 40 percent were Indians.
The people of Canada will support
This announcement is not good news for Canadian higher education institutions. Global News reported earlier this month that industry groups and Universities Canada have predicted a 45 per cent drop in the number of foreign students coming to the country for the new session starting in September. At the same time, a recent survey conducted by the agency Angus Reid Institute revealed that almost half of the people surveyed, i.e. 48 per cent, believe it would be a good move if Canada closes its borders to immigrants.
The results will be clear by the end of this year
There is no visible effect of these decisions at the moment. According to a report, the number of study permits issued between January and June this year increased from 2,38,640 to 2,46,580 for 2023. Talking about India, this number increased from 96,080 to 1,00,355 for a period of six months. Before the Trudeau government formulated the immigration policy, the total study permits issued in 2015 were 2,19,035 and the number of Indians was only 31,920. Canadian officials have said that the results of the new decision will be clear by the end of this year.
