Provinces given ample notice about cap on international students, minister says

Miller responds to complaints from Ontario

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said his government gave provinces ample notice that international student numbers would be capped and any suggestion otherwise is “complete garbage.”

This after Ontario’s College and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop told the London Free Press Monday she was “very disappointed” with what she said was the federal government’s “unilateral decision, without any consultation” to limit international students.

“This was dropped on us,” Dunlop said.

Miller announced a cap on international student numbers earlier this year.

Universities and colleges across the country have brought in increasing numbers of international students in recent years, rising to nearly 900,000 this year.

On Tuesday, Miller rejected any suggestion provinces weren’t fully informed.

“That’s complete garbage,” he said.

“We said quite clearly they need to get their houses in order. We spoke specifically about Ontario that has the largest number of international students. They should have known it. They’ve had auditor general reports. We’ve spoken quite publicly about it.”

Miller said his government invited provincial counterparts to meetings that they did not attend.

“It’s beneath me to share text messages with journalists, but the reality is that there was communication that just was never followed up on,” he told reporters.

International student numbers have tripled over what they were when the Liberals took office in 2015, and the cap lowers them by 35 per cent for next year.

It also spreads out the cuts on a per-capita basis, with Ontario facing the deepest cuts.

On Monday, Dunlop announced nearly $1.3 billion in provincial funding over the next three years for Ontario schools to help them compensate for the lost revenue from fewer international students. International students pay much higher tuition than domestic students and in Ontario domestic tuition fees are frozen, a freeze Dunlop extended for the next three years.

WE SAID QUITE CLEARLY THEY NEED TO GET THEIR HOUSES IN ORDER.

Miller said many international students were landing in Canada only to claim refugee status once here, making it clear they were not seeking out a better education.

“Ontario over the last three years in their education system has had over 10,000 asylum claims. That isn’t the sign of a healthy system.”

Asylum claims from international students at Seneca College increased from 300 in 2022 to almost 700 in 2023. At Conestoga College, claims jumped from 106 to 450 during that same period.

Miller called those increases “alarming” and “totally unacceptable.”

Miller said the federal government is using the only tool it has, reducing the number of permits, but provinces and schools should now be stepping up and taking their own measures.

However, Miller warned that the government is ready to step in and shut down shady schools that are abusing the international student program if provinces don’t crack down themselves.

The minister said there are problems across the college sector, but some of the worst offenders are private institutions — and those schools need to go.

“There’s responsibility to go around,” Miller said on Parliament Hill. “I just think that some of the really, really bad actors are in the private sphere and those need to be shut down.”

Provinces are responsible for addressing problems in the post-secondary sector with regards to international students, he said. But if they won’t do it, Ottawa will — although “jurisdictional questions” limit the federal government’s power.

One potential fix, Miller said, is the federal plan to recognize post-secondary institutions that have higher standards for services, supports and outcomes for international students.

“The recognized institution model that we launched in the fall still is very pertinent to this discussion, because we will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff,” he said.

“And perhaps even — if provinces don’t assume their responsibility — shut down institutions ourselves if they don’t do a good enough job.”