Ottawa, Canada

Justin Trudeau's government in Canada on Wednesday (Sep 18) announced that it would slash international students permit next year, a move that will affect the significant number of Indians and other nationals that travel to the nation for higher education.

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This move seeks to tighten foreign worker rules and further bring down the number of temporary residents in Canada. It comes as earlier this year, immigration levels pushed the nation's population to 41 million.

Ottawa, as per AFP, announced earlier that it would cut the number of temporary residents to five per cent. In April 2024, this number stood at 6.8 per cent.

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How much of a decrease?

"It is a privilege to come to Canada. It is not a right," said Immigration Minister Marc Miller while addressing a news conference. 

"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."

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In 2025, Canada, as per reports, plans to issue 437,000 study permits to international students. This is down from 509,390 in 2023. In the first seven months of this year, 175,920 permits were given, as per immigration department data. 

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Additionally, Canada will also impose restrictions on work permits of spouses of foreign workers and international students. Finally, Ottawa has also announced plans to step up pre-travel visa issuing checks to stem the spike in fraudulent or rejected asylum claims. 

Canada elections to blame?

This decision to tighten rules comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government trails in opinion polls. According to Reuters, the high number of temporary residents has become one of the most contentious in Canadian politics, with federal elections scheduled to happen no later than October 2025.

(With inputs from agencies)