Cap on international students is here. But can it fix the housing crisis?

Faced with scrutiny over issues of housing and affordability, the federal government resorted to a measure it once said would be a last resort. On Monday, Ottawa announced a cap on the number of international students coming into the country.

The government’s line was clear. Many communities in the country were taking in temporary residents beyond their capacity.

“We do see that there’s certain pockets of the country that have seen significant increase in population growth as a result of institutions taking on more students than they can handle,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who previously held the immigration portfolio, told reporters on Monday.

The government’s other recent measures, such as increasing the financial requirements to apply for a study permit, were not enough.

Fraser said the situation necessitated a cap. “It seems that things have, from that time until now, continued to see growth beyond what certain communities could handle. And that’s what justified the decision to use this particular suite of measures.”

Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who announced the cap, said for 2024 the cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits – a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023.

But some experts believe the cap on international students is largely a matter of optics, a move that would show that the government was “doing something”.

Carolyn Whitzman, a housing policy expert and expert advisor to the Housing Assessment Resource Tools project, calls the cuts “largely performative.”

“It says we’re doing something, but it doesn’t address any of the underlying causes, which include (the government having) no idea of how many students are coming in, what kind of housing they need and at what cost.”

Whitzman