Ontario is set to lose more than a third of its international student population following the federal government's student permit cap, according to preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada. The agency's report, published Tuesday, suggests the federal cap measures led to a "sharp decline" in new international students in Canada but a more moderate drop in overall enrolment.
Ontario is estimated to feel the worst of the impact, losing 92,000 full-time international students in public post-secondary institutions for the 2025-26 year. Before the permit cap, the province was home to the most international students in the country, according to Statistics Canada.
The cap was initially meant to last two years, but the federal government recently laid out a plan to keep cutting the number of international students admitted into the country, with plans to admit 155,000 students in 2026 and 150,000 in 2027 and 2028.
Statistics Canada used national survey data from post-secondary institutions as well as administrative data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Revenue Agency to calculate its estimates.
Amir Moghadam, an international PhD student at the University of Toronto, said he chose to come to Canada because of its welcoming environment to students.
