Capping foreign students hurts Canada: Senator Simons
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Thirty-nine years ago this September, I set off on an adventure that would shape my future. I enrolled as a graduate student at Stanford University in California. Generous scholarships from the Alberta government and Stanford covered my tuition and made it possible for me to be an international student at one of the world’s great universities.
The students in my small program came from across the United States — but also from India, the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China. (And in 1986 that was still a very rare thing.) There was even another Canadian — from Calgary. Stanford understood that recruiting foreign students made campus a more cosmopolitan and creative place. That, in turn, raised and maintained the university’s status both in America and around the world.
Today when I remember how thrilled I was to start my studies, I’m infuriated by the way America has politicized and weaponized the granting of student visas. For U.S. President Donald Trump, it’s been a perfect three-for-one bargain. He has been able to indulge his xenophobia and prosecute his war on science and knowledge, all the while taunting and punishing universities that don’t bow down to his will and whims.
But while it’s easy to denounce Mr. Trump’s petty vindictiveness, Canadian politicians have also been playing political games with the issue of international students here. In January 2024 the Trudeau government announced plans to cut the number of international study permits by 35%. The avowed reason was to reduce pressure on rental and housing prices, and to respond to the specific Ontario problem of cut-rate diploma mills that were luring foreign students with false promises. The plan apportioned student permits differently for each province, in some cases cutting the number of student visas allotted to that province by as much as 50%.
There was certainly a problem, especially in metro Toronto, of small commercial colleges charging high fees for programs of dubious educational value. But to scapegoat foreign students for Toronto’s and Vancouver’s long-time high rents and housing prices was political pandering to populist prejudice.
Meanwhile, Alberta’s colleges and universities have spent years trying to recruit more foreign students. Those students pay higher tuition than Canadians, of course, which helps make up for cuts to provincial funding. And bringing in international scholars helps build an institution’s global reputation. Whether those students return to their homelands with new skills and credentials, or later apply to immigrate to Canada, the results are a win for Alberta and its standing on the world stage.
Almost 30,000 more foreign students registered at Alberta colleges, polytechnics and universities in 2023-2024 than did 10 years ago. SAIT in Calgary and Norquest College in Edmonton have seen the biggest increases. In 2013-2014 SAIT had 1,616 international students. Last year it had 7,743. A decade ago Norquest had just 153 international students. In 2023-2024 it had 5,383. The University of Alberta has the most international students in the province — more than 9,000 last year. But other schools, from University of Lethbridge to Keyano College, have also seen sharp rises in international enrolments.
The federal policy didn’t cap international enrolments in Alberta. We are still allowed to welcome more students. Nonetheless, many post-secondaries here have reported sharp drops in international applications — and school presidents have been quoted by the CBC as saying they believe applications plummeted because international students got the message they were no longer welcome in Canada. (Though I’m guessing homophobic and separatist rhetoric from Alberta’s government also hasn’t helped to win hearts and minds.)
Without international students and their tuition dollars, some Alberta campuses will cut staff and offer fewer courses.
I had hoped Mark Carney — an Edmonton boy who was once a foreign student at Harvard and Oxford — might change Canada’s unfriendly messaging. We could and should seize this moment to recruit top academic talent: undergrads and graduates who’ve either had their U.S. student visas delayed or denied, or who’ve decided not to run the risks of being a foreign student in Trump’s America, subject to his mercurial mood swings. Instead, during his first prime ministerial press conference, Mr. Carney reiterated his vow to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students in Canada, to reduce their numbers from 7% of the population to less than 5% by the end of 2027.
What a wasted opportunity for Canada, for Alberta and for our post-secondary schools, especially our top universities. If we want to be prepared for the economic, social and security challenges ahead, we need to invest many more provincial and federal dollars in higher education, create more opportunities for Canadian students and open our doors to international students — not as an act of charity, but because they have so very much to offer us in return.
Senator Paula Simons represents Alberta.
This article was published in the September 2025 edition of Alberta Views.
Thirty-nine years ago this September, I set off on an adventure that would shape my future. I enrolled as a graduate student at Stanford University in California. Generous scholarships from the Alberta government and Stanford covered my tuition and made it possible for me to be an international student at one of the world’s great universities.
The students in my small program came from across the United States — but also from India, the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China. (And in 1986 that was still a very rare thing.) There was even another Canadian — from Calgary. Stanford understood that recruiting foreign students made campus a more cosmopolitan and creative place. That, in turn, raised and maintained the university’s status both in America and around the world.
Today when I remember how thrilled I was to start my studies, I’m infuriated by the way America has politicized and weaponized the granting of student visas. For U.S. President Donald Trump, it’s been a perfect three-for-one bargain. He has been able to indulge his xenophobia and prosecute his war on science and knowledge, all the while taunting and punishing universities that don’t bow down to his will and whims.
But while it’s easy to denounce Mr. Trump’s petty vindictiveness, Canadian politicians have also been playing political games with the issue of international students here. In January 2024 the Trudeau government announced plans to cut the number of international study permits by 35%. The avowed reason was to reduce pressure on rental and housing prices, and to respond to the specific Ontario problem of cut-rate diploma mills that were luring foreign students with false promises. The plan apportioned student permits differently for each province, in some cases cutting the number of student visas allotted to that province by as much as 50%.
There was certainly a problem, especially in metro Toronto, of small commercial colleges charging high fees for programs of dubious educational value. But to scapegoat foreign students for Toronto’s and Vancouver’s long-time high rents and housing prices was political pandering to populist prejudice.
Meanwhile, Alberta’s colleges and universities have spent years trying to recruit more foreign students. Those students pay higher tuition than Canadians, of course, which helps make up for cuts to provincial funding. And bringing in international scholars helps build an institution’s global reputation. Whether those students return to their homelands with new skills and credentials, or later apply to immigrate to Canada, the results are a win for Alberta and its standing on the world stage.
Almost 30,000 more foreign students registered at Alberta colleges, polytechnics and universities in 2023-2024 than did 10 years ago. SAIT in Calgary and Norquest College in Edmonton have seen the biggest increases. In 2013-2014 SAIT had 1,616 international students. Last year it had 7,743. A decade ago Norquest had just 153 international students. In 2023-2024 it had 5,383. The University of Alberta has the most international students in the province — more than 9,000 last year. But other schools, from University of Lethbridge to Keyano College, have also seen sharp rises in international enrolments.
The federal policy didn’t cap international enrolments in Alberta. We are still allowed to welcome more students. Nonetheless, many post-secondaries here have reported sharp drops in international applications — and school presidents have been quoted by the CBC as saying they believe applications plummeted because international students got the message they were no longer welcome in Canada. (Though I’m guessing homophobic and separatist rhetoric from Alberta’s government also hasn’t helped to win hearts and minds.)
Without international students and their tuition dollars, some Alberta campuses will cut staff and offer fewer courses.
I had hoped Mark Carney — an Edmonton boy who was once a foreign student at Harvard and Oxford — might change Canada’s unfriendly messaging. We could and should seize this moment to recruit top academic talent: undergrads and graduates who’ve either had their U.S. student visas delayed or denied, or who’ve decided not to run the risks of being a foreign student in Trump’s America, subject to his mercurial mood swings. Instead, during his first prime ministerial press conference, Mr. Carney reiterated his vow to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students in Canada, to reduce their numbers from 7% of the population to less than 5% by the end of 2027.
What a wasted opportunity for Canada, for Alberta and for our post-secondary schools, especially our top universities. If we want to be prepared for the economic, social and security challenges ahead, we need to invest many more provincial and federal dollars in higher education, create more opportunities for Canadian students and open our doors to international students — not as an act of charity, but because they have so very much to offer us in return.
Senator Paula Simons represents Alberta.
This article was published in the September 2025 edition of Alberta Views.