ANALYSIS: With Record 1,900 Student Visas Issued Per Day, Canada Grapples With Capacity, System Abuse Issues

Although international education brings in over $22 billion in economic activity to Canada each year, the rapidly expanding international student program has also brought a host of problems, causing Ottawa to reverse course and stem the flow of students. The federal government issued approximately 682,000 international study permits in 2023, amounting to some 1,868 permits per day. However, due to increasing issues relating to housing shortage and affordability and companies registered as institutional institutes abusing the program the government said it would cut back on admissions, while some provinces are introducing their own limits on international student intake. The issue garnered more attention this month regarding how much security checking could have been done given the high intake numbers after an alleged terrorism attempt incident. A Pakistani national was arrested in Quebec on Sept. 4 while allegedly trying to cross into the United States to carry out a terrorist attack against Jews in New York....