CANADA Set to Reduce Number of Student Visas – See Reasons below.
Canada is dealing with the problem of housing costs going up, which might lead to making rules about how many foreign students can come to the country.
Sean Fraiser, who is in charge of housing in Canada, talked to reporters during a meeting in Prince Edward Island. He said that one idea they’re thinking about is to limit how many students can come to Canada.
He explained, “We have programs for people to come to Canada temporarily, but we never expected so many people to come in such a short time.”
Reports show that in 2022, there were over 800,000 foreign students with active visas, which is a big increase from 275,000 in 2012. This increase has made Canada a popular choice for students from other countries, as it’s relatively easy to get a permit to work while studying.
Fraiser used to be in charge of immigration before working with housing. He mentioned that this big increase in students is causing problems with finding places to live in some areas.
According to Reuters, the Conservative Party, which is not currently in charge but is expected to do well in the next election, thinks that the government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t doing enough to solve the housing issue.
Canada has about 39.5 million people, and they’re planning to welcome a record number of 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025.
Fraiser said that just limiting the number of new people coming to Canada isn’t the solution.
