Immigration to Canada has reduced the number of Nova Scotians international student visa the 35% increase, as announced during the House of Province debate on the provincial budget.
Nova ScotiaAdvanced Education Minister Brian Wong told the supply subcommittee that the province has received the total number of international student applications it can allow for the 2024-25 school year, which is 12,900, and will be shared by universities, NSCC, private colleges career and language schools.
That’s a drop of 7,000 applications from last year and is in line with Ottawa’s goal of reducing international student applications by 35% across Canada, according to The Hamilton Spectator.
On January 22, IRCC Minister Marc Miller announced a cap on international study permit applications to stabilize growth for an interim period of two years. For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits.
IRCC also announced that individual provincial and territorial limits have been determined, weighted by population, which will result in much more significant reductions in provinces where the international student population has seen the most volatile growth.
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Wong’s announcement is one of the first public disclosures about the federal government’s provincial divisions.
All designated learning institutions in Nova Scotia will share the 12,900 quota, but Wong did not detail how that number would be divided — whether each school gets an equal share, for example, or if it is weighted by another factor, such as school enrollment numbers or international student population.
While DLIs just learned of the 12,900 figure, the province has until the end of this month to determine the breakdown.
NS universities welcomed 14,500 international students in 2023-2024, while the country as a whole was home to more than 1 million international students.
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Canada has introduced many measures recently to ensure that the International Student Program works for incoming students.
This includes:
- Updating the cost of living requirement, which was introduced on January 1 for study permit holders to better reflect the “true” cost of living in Canada and help prevent vulnerability and exploitation;
- Requiring post-secondary DLIs as of December 1st to confirm any letter of acceptance submitted by an applicant outside of Canada directly with IRCC;
- Aim to implement targeted pilots aimed at helping underrepresented groups of international students pursue their studies in Canada in 2024.
