Ottawa – The federal government has more work to do to ensure that its intake caps on international students do not disproportionately affect French-language post-secondary institutions outside Quebec, francophone international students, and Canada’s francophone immigration objectives, said the Senate Committee on Official Languages.

Earlier this year, the government announced that it would limit the number of study permits it approves for international students for two years. Seeking to understand the potential effect of this cap on enrolment at French-language post-secondary institutions in francophone minority communities, the committee invited the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, representatives from four post-secondary institutions and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, to testify before senators.

While it does not yet have data on the effects of the study permit cap on francophone post-secondary institutions, the committee welcomes the new Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot Program. Launched in August, this program will allow 2,300 study permit applications to be accepted at designated educational institutions over the coming year. This number will be reviewed next year. That said, senators question the coherence between the measures taken to cap study permits, the compliance with the objectives of the francophone immigration policy and the ability to achieve francophone immigration targets. The committee will closely monitor this issue as it evolves.

Quick Facts

• On January 22, 2024, the federal government announced a two-year cap on the number of approved study permits for international students. The cap for 2025 was announced on September 18, 2024. 
• In its 2023 report, Francophone Immigration to Minority Communities: Towards a bold, strong and coordinated approach, the committee noted that francophone international students can make significant contributions to governments’ francophone immigration objectives. The federal government tabled its response to the committee’s report on September 22, 2023.
• On August 26, 2024, the federal government launched the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot program as part of a series of new policies and programs to support the immigration of French-speaking newcomers to communities outside Quebec.

Quotes

 “To meet francophone immigration targets, the federal government must ensure that it measures the impact of the decisions it makes under the Official Languages Act, such as capping study permits for international students, on francophone minority communities and on the post-secondary institutions that are at the heart of their development.”

– Senator René Cormier, Chair of the committee

Associated Links 

• Consult the committee’s meeting schedule.
• Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #OLLO.
• Subscribe to email alerts for Senate committees.
• Sign up for the Senate eNewsletter.

For more information:

Sabryna Lemieux
Communications Officer | Senate of Canada
343-598-3547 | Sabryna.Lemieux@sen.parl.gc.ca