Canada student population declines by nearly 300,000

2026-02-05 - 14:28

Canada has experienced one of its sharpest declines in international student enrolment, losing nearly 300,000 foreign students over the past two years, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Between December 2023 and November 2025, the international student population fell by 27.5%, from nearly one million to about 721,000. The drop follows government policies introduced in early 2024 to limit temporary residents, including caps on student enrolment, stricter post-graduation work permit rules, and higher study permit rejection rates. Student arrivals fell 53% between January and September 2025 compared to the previous year, and numbers are expected to keep declining. Canada’s 2026 Immigration Levels Plan targets just 155,000 new international students, down from 293,100 arrivals in 2024, as the government aims to reduce temporary residents—including students and foreign workers—to below 5% of the population by 2027. Statistics Canada reported non-permanent residents stood at 2.85 million, or 6.8% of the population, in October 2025. While student numbers have dropped sharply, temporary foreign workers only recently began declining, highlighting the adjustments still ahead. Vanguard News