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Ottawa announces it's further reducing the number of international student permits

  • Anja Karadeglija

  • Canadian Press

  • September 18, 2024

The Liberal government says it is further cutting the number of permits it issues to international students who come to Canada to study. The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is framed by leaves in Ottawa on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA -- The Liberal government will slash the number of international student visas it issues by another 10 per cent.

The government says the new target for 2025 and 2026 will be 437,000 permits.

In 2024 the target was 485,000 permits.

It is also putting new limits on work permits for spouses of both foreign workers and students in master's degree programs.

Earlier this year, the Liberal government announced a temporary cap to reduce the number of new student visas by more than a third this year.

Those changes followed significant scrutiny of the international student program as experts warned that strong population growth was putting pressure on an already-strained housing market.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.