Lethbridge post-secondary schools dealing with impact of international student cap

Lethbridge post-secondary schools are dealing with the impacts of the federally-imposed international student cap. (CTV News)

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — Lethbridge post-secondary schools are trying to navigate recent changes to the cap on international students, announced by the federal government in January.

Approximately 360,000 international students will be permitted into Canada for 2024, down about 35 per cent from the year before.

Schools are still trying to figure out just how much the change will impact them.

“It's frustrating that here we are, nine months after IRC started the clampdown. They're still implementing new rules, that are making it very difficult,” said Brad Donaldson, Lethbridge Polytechnic president and CEO.

In 2023, the University of Lethbridge had nearly 1,200 international students while international students made up around 20 per cent of Lethbridge Polytechnic’s student body.

The number of international students will be down slightly for both schools this year.

The University of Lethbridge Students Union (ULSU) says it hasn't noticed a significant decline in international applications yet. But there's a belief a decrease will be coming over the next year.

“In the later semesters or years to come, there will actually be that significant decline,” said Moyosoreoluwa Oladoye, the international student representative for the ULSU.

"Like that you can pin a point to it that this is actually affecting the students that are coming in."

That decrease in applications could mean fewer top prospects and graduate students will consider Canada for schooling.

"Recent changes to immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada, including visa processing delays, combined with a cap on international student numbers threatens to make Canada a less attractive option for post-secondary education amongst international students," Michelle Helstein, U of L provost and vice president academic, said in a statement."

The cap on international students was introduced after a sharp increase in students coming to Canada in recent years, which put pressure on public services as well as housing.

But international students also became big money-makers for schools thanks to the higher fees they pay.

Schools are now looking at ways to make up for that lost revenue.

"We're still trying to understand what the impact of that will be. So there will be a reduction in international student revenue for sure. Just because of the number of programs that we have that are eligible for international students. But we do have a bit of a runway here," Donaldson said.