A pedestrian crosses by the Toronto Metropolitan University Campus Store, in Toronto, on May 18, 2023.Tuan Minh Nguyen/The Globe and Mail
Ontario universities say the federal government’s cap on international study permits will mean a loss of $300-million in revenue this year and more than $600-million next year, a drop that will have a “profound impact.”
The Council of Ontario Universities released the estimated revenue loss on Friday, based on projections from its member schools. The shift reflects the impact of the federal government’s move in January to reduce the number of international study permits issued in 2024 by 35 per cent, a measure it said was necessary to reduce the strain on housing and health care caused by a rise in temporary residents.
The projected losses don’t include the impact of additional measures announced by the federal government in September. Master’s and PhD students, who had previously not counted against the cap, will be included next year, and the cap as a whole will be reduced by a further 10 per cent, from 485,000 to 437,000.
Steve Orsini, president of COU, called on the federal and provincial governments to ensure that the number of study permits allocated to Ontario’s universities doesn’t fall any further.
“While we recognize the federal government had to address the bad actors that recklessly increased international student enrolment without the necessary supports, this has resulted in significant collateral damage to universities that will have untold implications for years to come,” Mr. Orsini said in a statement.
Over the past decade, international student tuition has contributed billions in additional funding to Canadian postsecondary institutions. Institutions have come to rely on that revenue to fund their operations.
In Ontario, the average international undergraduate tuition is more than $48,000 this year, according to Statistics Canada, compared to about $8,500 for a domestic student.
The Ontario government cut and then froze domestic tuition prices in 2019, a measure that has constrained one of the primary revenue sources for universities.
Ten universities of the province’s 24 publicly-supported universities are expecting to run an operating deficit this year, Mr. Orsini said.
In Atlantic Canada, figures released this week show a decline of nearly 3,000 international enrolments since the introduction of the permit cap in January, a dip of about 11 per cent.
Universities are concerned that the steps taken by the federal government have damaged Canada’s reputation as a destination for talented students, Robert Summerby-Murray, president of Saint Mary’s University and chair of the Association of Atlantic Universities, said in a statement.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said last month the government’s changes are having their intended effect, but that could mean a turbulent year for postsecondary enrolments.
Mr. Orsini urged the provincial government, which decides how permits are allocated between the college and university sectors, to ensure the number of permits awarded to Ontario universities remains the same next year.
Universities were granted about 15 per cent of Ontario’s study permit allocation this year, compared to about 80 per cent for the college sector, which is also heavily reliant on international tuition to fund its operations.