 "Why is Canada further reducing study permits? How will this move affect Indians?")
Life is tough in Canada, thanks to its high cost of living and immigration levels.
To cut down on the number of temporary residents, Ottawa is once again reducing the number of study permits for foreign students and tightening eligibility for work permits, the government said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes at a time when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government seeks to reduce the number of foreign students and workers in the country.
However, a significant number of Indians who intend to study, work or live in the North American country could be affected by the new measure. Take a look.
The latest move
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on X, “We’re granting 35 per cent fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10 per cent. Immigration is an advantage for our economy, but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down.”
We’re granting 35% fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10%.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 18, 2024
Immigration is an advantage for our economy — but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe changes announced on Wednesday would reduce the number of international study permits issued to 437,000 in 2025. Ottawa approved 509,390 in 2023, according to immigration department data, and 175,920 in the first seven months of 2024.
The modifications would also limit work permit eligibility for spouses of some students and temporary foreign workers.
As Canada sees a spike in the number of refugee claimants, the government said Wednesday it planned to review measures to strengthen visa integrity and was “reviewing visa decision-making so that our highly trained officers have the right tool to detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors.”
Addressing the media, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that “coming to Canada was a privilege, not a right.”
“The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to — just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to,” he said.
The government has already pledged to reduce the number of temporary residents to five per cent of the total population. It was 6.8 per cent in April. After years of increasing Canada’s ranks of temporary residents, its federal government is seeking to pull back.
In January, the government placed a two-year cap on international students, whose approvals are projected to decrease by almost half this year.
Earlier this month, the government walked back 2022 expansions to the temporary foreign worker programme. In some sectors, it reduced the maximum share of any employer’s workforce that can be made up of low-wage, temporary foreign workers. It also ended, in some sectors, low-wage temporary foreign workers in communities with high unemployment rates.
Its impact on Indians
India is one of the top ten countries of origin for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) with a contribution of 26,495 in 2023.
About 4.27 lakh students are studying in Canada, according to the Indian government’s data released last month. Indian students account for nearly 50 per cent of Canada’s international post-secondary student body in 2023. This also helps them have a high approval rate of 85 per cent in the first half of 2024, as per another Indian Express report.
Notably, in recent years, there has been a steady increase in the Indian community in Canada.
The number of Indians who are officially registered in Canada increased from 670,000 in 2000 to over one million in 2020. A total of 1,021,356 Indians were registered in Canada by 2020.
Thus, the latest move will negatively impact the decision of selecting Canada as a preferred decision for study and work.
Indian students might want to select other countries such as the US, UK, Australia or Europe.
The immigration problem
The largest increase in immigration, according to Statistics Canada, is attributed to temporary residents, particularly workers and students. The numbers have doubled in only two years, from 1.4 million in the second quarter of 2022 to 2.8 million in the same quarter of 2024.
Uncontrolled immigration is also placing a burden on the country’s housing, social services and ramped-up cost of living, even as post-pandemic inflation slowed to the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent annually in August.
Polls have shown a growing slice of the public thinks Canada is bringing in too many immigrants, and anti-migrant rhetoric and attacks have risen in Canada, once renowned for its welcoming stance toward newcomers.
Criticism
The United Nations described Canada’s temporary foreign worker system as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery,” a charge Miller deemed “inflammatory.”
As a result, the programme has faced criticism since then.
“The Ministers made no mention not even once about workers’ rights, instead continuing to obsess about numbers and cuts,” Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said in a statement, adding, “Reducing the numbers of migrants will not stop their exploitation; giving them equal rights and the power to exercise those rights will - and that is only possible through permanent resident status for all.”
Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers Armine Yalnizyan said she was disappointed Wednesday’s announcement did not include a plan to transition migrants from temporary status to permanent.
“These are not temporary jobs. Why aren’t we facilitating permanence for these people?” she asked, “We are not going to grow economically without more newcomers. So we’ve got to be very clear on what the future path is.”
A contentious issue
The latest action came just one week before Trudeau is scheduled to face a vote of confidence following the opposition Conservatives said they would try to topple the ruling administration next Wednesday on the grounds that Canadians cannot afford the promised increase in an existing federal carbon tax.
It also comes two days after the Liberal Party lost a major seat in a Quebec bypoll.
Trudeau, who first took office in November 2015, faces increasing unhappiness from voters over rising prices and a nationwide housing crisis.
The confidence vote will be his first real test since the smaller New Democratic Party this month tore up a 2022 deal to keep the Liberals in office until an election that must be held by end-October 2025.
With inputs from agencies
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