The Canadian government is now considering putting a cap on international students as the country faces a housing affordability crisis, according to an immigration official.
In an interview on CTV's Question Period, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the Liberal government is considering imposing a cap on the number of international students allowed to live in the country in the first and second quarters of 2024.
"That volume is disconcerting," he said, referencing the number of international students in Canada. "It's really a system that has gotten out of control."
Miller did not provide any specifics, such as how much of a reduction in international students the Canadian government is considering.
"We have a sense of what those numbers would look like, what the reduction of those numbers looks like, out of courtesy to my colleagues in the provinces, those are discussions that we're first going to have around the negotiating table," Miller added.
The Liberal government first floated the idea of a cap in August. Prior to the cap, Canada floated plans to revive a strategy of pre-approving designs so homes could be built quickly. This strategy was used from the 1950s to the 1970s, when housing demand surged after the end of World War II.
Canada's Housing Crisis
Much like the United States, Canada is now battling a housing affordability crisis. But in comparison, economists believe Canada is now heading toward a recession as home values rise to C$352,000, double the numbers since 2011.
One of the drivers of Canada's housing crisis is its demand, which has raced ahead of the supply. Mosche Lander, an economist at Concordia University, said a factor that contributed to the lack of inventory is the country's control housing policy, which is "biased towards homeowners and not towards renters," as quoted by Business Insider.
Another factor that contributed to Canada's housing crisis in the record population growth from immigration. In 2023's third quarter alone, Canada welcomed more than 300,000 temporary residents, largely comprised of international students and migrant workers.
The Liberal Government is looking to bring in at least 485,000 immigrants this year, with the numbers increasing to 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
