Canada is considering a first-ever cap on international students as it tries to solve its housing affordability crisis. Could the measure make a difference?
This week, Canadian Housing Minister Sean Fraser floated the idea of capping how many students Canada lets in from abroad as a way to help tackle the country’s inflated housing costs.
He said it was “one of the options that we ought to consider”.
His remarks come as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing criticism for failing to solve the housing crisis.
The reaction to Mr Fraser’s remarks was swift, with the idea criticised by universities, as well as the province of Quebec, who says it would reject efforts to limit international students.
Canada accepted a record number of international students in 2022 – more than 800,000, a 75% increase from five years ago.
On the heels of Mr Fraser’s remarks, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada would also take a look at its immigration targets to see whether it has an impact on the housing crunch.
Canada has promised to welcome 1.5 million new immigrants by 2025 – but questions are growing about how to accept newcomers at that pace if there is nowhere to house them.
But experts say limiting new arrivals will do little to address the problem.
For many in Canada, the struggle to pay their mortgage or rent is a persistent reality.
The average home price in Canada was around C$750,000 ($550,000;£435,000) as of August. That represents an increase of 360% from the year 2000, when the average was C$163,000.
The issue is especially acute in large cities like Toronto, where a six-figure annual income is needed to afford a house. Houses now typically sell for more than C$1m in Toronto and Vancouver.
Both are often ranked among the world’s top 10 most unaffordable places to live in, according to the Dermographia International Housing Affordability Index, ranking alongside cities like Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Rent is also becoming more expensive in Canada’s major cities. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto is C$2,500 – a 25% increase from last year.
In recent years, those living in smaller cities across Canada have begun to feel the crunch, too.
It is a long-standing national problem, and one that politicians from all levels of government have repeatedly promised to fix over the last decade.
One cause is a housing shortage, as population growth – largely fuelled by immigration – outpaces the number of homes being built.
Canada needs to build 5.8 million new homes, including two million rental units, by 2030 to solve the problem, according to the country’s national housing agency.
