Canada Calling: Amid housing crisis, Quebec rejects cap on international students; poll shows many young Canadians living from paycheck to paycheck

But the big jump has now become an election issue with many blaming the growing number of Internatonal students for the housing crisis. This has in turn led to some policymakers call for imposing a cap on the number of international students coming to Canada. Some associations such as National Association of Career Colleges, which represents private colleges, have supported this cap, as they feel a handful of colleges are reaping the benefits that accrue from enrolling international students.

Take for instance, Ontario’s Conestoga College, which had roughly 10,000 full-time students in 2012, with nearly 90% of them being Canadians.

Last year, this college made headlines by receiving more international study permits than any other educational institution in Canada. These figures approached the combined numbers of two prestigious Canadian universities, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.

This is a story internationalisation of Ontario colleges. In 2016, Ontario colleges collectively welcomed just over 35,000 students with study permits. Today, that number has soared to over 100,000 annually and shows no sign of slowing down.

In the 2021-22 academic year, at least seven of Ontario’s 24 publicly funded colleges boasted more international students than domestic ones. Lambton College in Sarnia had an impressive 92% of its students coming from international backgrounds. Northern College in Timmins reached around 90%, Canadore College in North Bay stood at 82%, and Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie reported 60% international enrollment.

With over 100,000 foreign students in Canada in 2022, the country’s housing crisis has been exacerbated. Moreover, this influx has introduced a substantial pool of low-wage labour, essentially creating a new temporary foreign worker stream.

This complex situation has thrust international students into the political spotlight. Recently, Canada’s Housing Minister, Sean Fraser, proposed the idea of imposing a cap on study permits to alleviate the mounting pressure.

The Quebec government has firmly rejected the idea of imposing a cap on the number of international students it admits, dismissing this as one of the potential solutions proposed by the federal government to address the national housing crisis. This stance by Quebec signals a potential source of conflict with the federal government, as education falls under provincial jurisdiction, and Quebec holds the authority to determine its capacity for accommodating international students.

Alexandre Lahaie, a spokesperson for Quebec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette, said, “It’s up to Quebec and its educational institutions to determine the number of people they can accommodate.”

Meanwhile, Mike Moffatt, founding director of the PLACE Centre at the Smart Prosperity Institute, presented a new report on housing supply to the federal cabinet. He highlighted how the influx of foreign students has impacted the housing market, contributing to a shift from a rental crisis to a home-ownership crisis. Moffatt argued that domestic and international students are victims of this systemic failure, rather than the cause, pointing to the responsibility shared by both federal and provincial governments and the higher education sector.

Half the Canadians living from paycheck to paycheck

In a recent poll, almost half of Canadians are found to be living paycheck to paycheck due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. Young people, in particular, express concerns about their finances. The poll also indicates a rise in popularity for the Conservative party, with 37% of respondents saying they would vote for them in a current election.

Following are some of the key findings of the poll conducted by Leger:

– Nearly 47% of respondents are living paycheck to paycheck, with 53% of those aged 18 to 35 and 50% of those between 35 and 54 expressing financial strain.
– The impact of high prices is most pronounced in Atlantic Canada, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, where over half of respondents are struggling with each paycheck.
– Around 60% of respondents believe their household finances are good or very good, but 36% describe them as poor or very poor, and 4% are unsure.
– Concerns about job loss are higher among those under 35, with 49% expressing worries about job security in the next year.
– Younger Canadians are more likely to perceive Canada as being in an economic recession, with 41% agreeing with this view.

The poll was conducted by surveying 1,527 Canadians online.