International student numbers plummet to near COVID-era levels: StatsCan

Estimates put number of international students for 2025-26 at around 300,000, close to number recorded in 2021-22

Published May 06, 2026  •  2 minute read

Desks in a classroom Photo by Contributed /STOCK IMAGE

OTTAWA — Canada’s international student population has reduced to levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, said new numbers from the federal government.

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Released Tuesday, the Statistics Canada report Feasibility study: Estimating the international student population in Canada using administrative data said the number of foreign students enrolled at Canadian post-secondary institutions decreased by just under 30% since 2023-24 — the latest data the agency had access to.

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Estimates in the report put the number of international students for the 2025-26 school year at around 300,000 — close to numbers recorded in 2021-22 and down 124,000 students compared to 2023-24.

The federal government doesn’t have an accurate picture of how many international students are actually in the country as there’s a difference between who has legal authorization to study in Canada and how many of those people are actually enrolled in classes.

Feds dropped ball on tracking students: Deputy minister

During testimony earlier this week at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, deputy minister Ted Gallivan admitted shortcomings within the Immigration Department led officials to lose track of how many international students were currently in Canada.

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“(The numbers) were symptoms of the fact the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) didn’t manage an entry-exit regime, full stop,” he said.

During that meeting, Gallivan said an IRCC pilot project will launch next month to track entries and exits of international students to ensure visa holders don’t overstay.

In the report released last week by Auditor General Karen Hogan, more than 153,000 international students were flagged as potentially being in Canada in violation of their student visa in 2023 and 2024, despite the fact IRCC only had the bandwidth to conduct about 2,000 investigations annually.

Between 2018 and 2023, 800 study permits were found to have been issued to applicants using fraudulent applications with many of those individuals applying to become permanent residents.

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Ontario could see largest declines

Estimates in the report said Ontario could see 92,000 fewer international students by the end of this school year, which is 36% less than 2023-24.

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That, the report said, would be the highest regional drop in the country.

Ontario hosts Canada’s largest share of international students — 54% this school year, down from the 60% seen in 2023-24.

The rest of Canada is expected to see similar declines.

Read More

1. 

   Canada issued 18% fewer student visas so far this year

2. 

   Immigration Department launching program to track foreign students

Government lowering immigration targets

In October 2024, the Justin Trudeau government did a dramatic about-face with its long-standing immigration policy, pausing population growth by cutting immigration numbers — a response to the ongoing housing and affordability crisis.

The move will accomplish this by cutting permanent resident targets to 380,000 annually until 2028, reduce Canada’s share of temporary residents — consisting of foreign workers and students — to less than 5% of Canada’s population and cutting student and work visas to 385,000 this year.

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