The latest figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), published on the federal government’s website, show another annual contraction in international enrolments. Sector leaders warn the trend is triggering program suspensions and job losses across institutions.
In 2025, 115,470 new international students arrived in Canada, a decrease of 177,595 compared with 2024.
The decline extended beyond new arrivals. The total number of study permit holders, including those who also hold work permits, dropped 30%, from about 995,000 in December 2023 to roughly 690,000 by December 2025.
Seasonal peaks in August and December reflected the usual uptick in permit issuance ahead of the fall and winter academic intakes.
The downturn follows a series of policy adjustments, most notably federal caps on study permits introduced in January 2024 and tightened further in 2025 and 2026. Processing backlogs and lower approval rates have compounded the impact, heightening concerns about immediate financial strain on institutions and longer-term implications for the labor market.
IRCC said the fall in international student numbers shows its measures are working as intended, underscoring efforts to build a more controlled and sustainable immigration system.
“Through the Immigration Levels Plan, we’re making our immigration system more responsive to the needs of the country. This includes reducing the number of students and temporary workers coming to Canada to help ease pressures on housing, infrastructure, and services.
We have committed to returning immigration to sustainable levels, including reducing Canada’s temporary population to less than 5%,” it said.
Larissa Bezo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Bureau for International Education, said the impact has been uneven, with some institutions facing widening budget deficits, program closures and multiple rounds of layoffs.
In the most severe cases, campuses have closed entirely. The Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (MITT) recently became the first public post-secondary institution to shut down following a 55% drop in international enrolment this year, she told The PIE News.
Bezo cautioned that the sustained decline in international student numbers, along with reduced institutional capacity to deliver programs to domestic students, could have “significant consequences” for regional and national labor markets.
She emphasized the need to preserve robust talent pipelines, particularly as Canada advances major infrastructure and housing projects under its 2025 budget aimed at strengthening economic self-reliance and reducing dependence on the United States.
Despite the mounting strain, the 2025 federal budget allocated CA$1.7 billion (US$1.2 billion) to attract global research talent and exempted graduate students from this year’s intake caps.
Bezo added that recent turbulence has also laid bare chronic underfunding in Canada’s post-secondary system. Declining international tuition revenue has exposed longstanding provincial funding pressures and tuition freezes. In response, British Columbia has launched a public review into the sustainability of its post-secondary sector, while Ontario has pledged CA$6.4 billion in additional support.
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