Ottawa: Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Saturday said in the next few months, he will be looking at the possibility of putting a cap on the number of international students living in the country, even as the unemployment and housing crisis in the country escalates.
However, the Minister didn't specify the extent of reduction the government is planning on making in the immigration system.
In an interview with CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, the Minister said, "This is a conversation the federal government will need to have with provincial governments "to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis."
"That volume is disconcerting," Miller said, with reference to the number of international students in Canada. "It's really a system that has gotten out of control," he added.
Miller said he will explore the possibility of setting a cap on international students to help reduce the demand for housing in both the first and second quarters of this year.
Asked why his government is only considering a cap now when the idea was floated months ago, Miller said there's a need to sort out numbers on a federal level before looking with "a little more granularity" at what individual academic institutions are doing in different provinces, possibly profiting off bringing in more international students, CTV News reported.
"We need to be doing our jobs and making sure that we have a system that actually makes sure people have a financial capability to come to Canada, that we're actually verifying offer letters," Miller said, adding, "And now it's time for us to have a conversation about volumes and the impact that is having in certain areas."
A cap on international students would not be a "one-size-fits-all solution" to housing shortages across Canada, Miller noted.
Regarding the influx of international students to Canada, surpassing the government's housing construction plans, Miller emphasized that immigration targets involve more than just housing considerations.
He highlighted the imperative of lowering the average age of the workforce as another crucial factor to be taken into account.
While not going into specifics, Miller said a cap on international students is something the federal government is considering, "and will continue to consider."
"We have a sense of what those numbers would look like, what the reduction of those numbers look like, out of courtesy to my colleagues in the provinces, those are discussions that we're first going to have around the negotiating table," he said, adding that the financial needs of academic institutions is also a factor.
The federal government has received criticism for admitting a growing number of immigrants, including both permanent and temporary residents, amid a severe housing shortage in the country.
CTV, citing The Canadian Press and internal documents obtained through an access to information request, reported that public servants had warned the government two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets might pose a threat to housing affordability.
The Liberal government has set immigration targets with the goal of admitting 485,000 immigrants in the current year and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
In addition to these figures, temporary residents, mainly consisting of international students and migrant workers, constitute another significant aspect. Over 300,000 temporary residents arrived in Canada during just the third quarter of the previous year.