Canada's international student spike was blamed on private colleges. Here's what really happened

Documents obtained by CBC News reveal which colleges and universities account for the greatest share of Canada's steep growth in international students, and which now have the most to lose from a new cap on permits to study in this country.

The data, obtained through access to information requests to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), shows the number of study permits granted each year since 2018 for foreign students to attend post-secondary institutions across the country.

The figures have never before been made fully available to the general public.

A CBC News analysis of the data reveals that what has been framed as a nationwide explosion in international student numbers — prompting Ottawa to impose an immediate two-year cap — is disproportionately linked to a handful of schools, the vast bulk of them public institutions, predominantly in Ontario.

• Of the 30 Canadian colleges and universities granted the most international study permits last year, all but one are public.
• Just 10 Ontario public colleges account for nearly 30 per cent of all study permits issued across the country over the past three years.
• Twelve Ontario public colleges have at least tripled their annual permit numbers since 2018.

The data calls into question claims by both federal and provincial politicians blaming «bad actors» among private colleges for fuelling the spike in international students.

The data also shines a light on what experts say was really driving Canada's dramatic rise in foreign student enrolment: Governments of all stripes actively pursuing international students both to shore up the skilled workforce and to bring hefty revenues into underfunded colleges and universities, with little regard for the ensuing demand