Fewer international students adding to university budget challenges
The Roddick Gates are monumental gates that serve as the main entrance to the McGill University campus are seen on November 14, 2017 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
OTTAWA — Canadian universities are being forced to tighten their financial belts as they struggle with plummeting enrolment from international students who pay higher tuitions.
Universities Canada says 'inadequate' provincial operating grants are also a factor in ongoing budget challenges for post-secondary institutions. President Gabriel Miller says tuition and fees from international student enrolment had provided a funding stopgap, but that is now being challenged due changing rules for international students, including a reduction in permits.
'We've been dealt a bad hand on international students, but the real problem is that governments have been gambling with the future of higher (education) for more than a decade,' Miller said.
'What we're now seeing is an opportunity gap that will start to grow where future students who want to go to study in universities are not going to have access to as many spaces. They're going to be forced to be in bigger classes, because the deal between government and families that build our universities isn't being held up.'
Miller said it's 'striking' how uniform budgetary issues are across the country.
McGill University is projecting a $45 million deficit for the next fiscal year, due in part to declining international student enrolment.
The University of Waterloo is looking to cut spending by $42 million this year as it faces a $75 million deficit.
The University of Regina is raising tuition by four per cent with 'flat' domestic enrolment and a 'significant' drop in international student enrolment contributing to budget challenges.
'We are seeing a severe loss of talent, which is greater than anything most people anticipated. And so that obviously means loss of revenue and loss of opportunity for Canadian students because those international students have been helping to pay the bills in our universities,' Miller said.
Mary Feltham, chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, said that they're receiving reports of program cuts and reduced on-campus services.
She said the reduction of international student enrolment is creating a domino effect that extends off campus.
'Now we're seeing a decline in services offered for everyone, a decline in jobs, a decline in different types of programs, which is impacting the ability for people to get an education and then contribute back to their province and country,' Feltham said.
The government's target for study permits this year is 437,000 nationwide, a 10 per cent reduction over 2024.
Ottawa first introduced it's cap on study permits in 2024, which it says contributed to a roughly 40 per cent reduction in international students and 'eased' the rental housing market in areas with high student populations.
Tuition for these students varies by school, but international fees are typically four to five times what domestic students pay.
An emailed statement from a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that Canada values the 'significant' benefits international students bring to the country but the program faced sustainability challenges.
The statement adds that the new minister looks forward to meeting with stakeholders to address concerns and ensure Canada continues to attract top talent.
Miller said Universities Canada has requested a meeting with the minister. He said the cap itself isn't as big an issue as requesting stability in the rules for international students so Canada can be seen as attractive.
Feltham said that the CFS is working on lobby efforts to all levels of government to improve post-secondary funding and they'd been warning about these coming issues 'for years.'
'It's just really frustrating to see because international students have often been used as a scapegoat for these problems or been used as cash cows,' Feltham said. 'So universities and colleges have really relied on them to be a source of income, which is also not appropriate, and this is why we've been asking for governments to properly fund these institutions.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2025
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
23 minutes ago
- National Post
Loblaw is pulling all products by this coffee brand from its shelves over 'unjustified' cost increases
Shoppers at Loblaw Cos. Ltd.'s stores will soon no longer be able to get a coffee fix by purchasing Folgers-brand products after a pricing dispute prompted the grocer to pull them from its shelves. Article content In an email sent to retailers on Wednesday, Loblaw said it decided to delist all Folgers products after talks with the coffee maker's manufacturer couldn't solve the impasse. Article content Article content Article content 'After several weeks of negotiations, we were unable to reach an agreement with the manufacturers of Folgers coffee regarding their significant and unjustified proposed price increases,' said the email signed by Loblaw category director Suren Theivakadacham and obtained by The Canadian Press. Article content Article content 'We are doing this because we are on the side of customers, and doing what we can to keep prices low … This decision to delist Folgers coffee reflects our commitment to providing value for customers by not accepting unreasonable cost increases that would hurt Canadians.' Article content Last month, Statistics Canada reported the price of coffee and tea was up 13.4 per cent in April on a year-over-year basis _ outpacing both the 3.8 per cent increase in the cost of groceries that month, as well as Canada's overall inflation rate of 1.7 per cent. Article content Article content Experts say higher coffee prices are in part due to recent extreme weather and changes in temperature, which have caused some producers to experience lower yields. Article content Article content Other pressures include a weak Canadian dollar, making it more expensive to import coffee to Canada from other countries, along with the fact coffee is one of the products still subject to Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
House unanimously adopts Liberals' promised income tax cut
The House of Commons unanimously voted in favour of the Liberals' promised income tax cut on Thursday. The Liberals promised to bring in a one percentage point reduction in the lowest marginal tax rate — taking it from 15 per cent to 14 per cent — during this spring's election campaign. The government introduced a "ways and means" motion to make the tax changes last week and all MPs voted in favour of the motion on Thursday. A ways and means motion allows the government to start making changes to the tax code before such changes are passed in legislation — but a bill will still need to be passed. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduced legislation on Thursday morning that will formally adopt the tax cut into law. Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to implement the tax cut by Canada Day. The Liberals say it will save two-income families up to $840 a year in 2026. Prior to Thursday's vote, Conservatives had signalled that they would be willing to support the tax cut — even though they said it should go further. "We are the party of taxpayers. We will vote for every tax cut always and everywhere. We love taxpayers and we want taxpayers to be better off," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said last week.
Globe and Mail
29 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Insider buying perks up as Morguard stock lags
The broad real estate group regained some upward momentum after the market plunge of Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day,' but Morguard Corp. (MRC-T) has not kept pace. Meanwhile, insiders have been buying as the stock strolls around the $112 mark. From May 16 to June 3, director Bruce Robertson bought 29,500 common shares in the public market at an average price of $112.96. In addition, from May 23 to 30, 10-per-cent holder and value investor Sime Armoyan reported purchasing 5,600 shares at an average price of $111.96 (not shown on chart). Ted Dixon is the CEO of INK Research, which provides insider news and knowledge to investors. For more background on insider reporting in Canada, visit the FAQ section at Securities referenced in this profile may have already appeared in recent reports distributed to INK subscribers. INK staff may also hold a position in profiled securities. Chart reflects public-market transactions of common shares or unit trusts by company officers and directors.
