Housing minister's comments worry international students in the Maritimes

A federal housing minister’s suggestion that government would consider capping the number of student visas awarded to students from outside of Canada is a cause for concern, some international students in the Maritimes say.

Minister Sean Fraser made the comments outside of the Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown Monday.

“I think that’s one of the options that we ought to consider, but I think we should start by trying to partner with institutions to understand what role they may play, to reduce the pressure on the communities they’re operating within, but that’s a conversation that’s premature to arrive at a decision on,” said Fraser.

Even with that caveat, the suggestion rattled international students set to start school in the Maritimes in just a few weeks.

“The talk itself does have an impact on how people do plan for the future. Because people are planning, not just university, but then life after university,” said Obed Oluwakoya, international student representative for the University of Prince Edward Island Student Union.

“This is a big step in their career goals, and their future goals, so it does make an impact.”

He said it makes a conversation which should be about housing into one about immigration.

"It takes a lot for an international student to move all the way from home, to a new place, that they don't know anybody, to study,” said Oluwakoya. “And it doesn't really feel nice that you get blamed for issues that people are having with housing."

Official data shows there were more than 800,000 active visas in 2022, nearly triple 275,000 in 2012.

Fraser took aim at what he called “plaza colleges.”

“Some institutions, if I can be completely candid, that I’m convinced have come to exist purely to profit off the back of vulnerable international students, rather than provide a quality education to the future permanent residents and citizens of Canada,” said Fraser.

Fraser was careful to say it’s not a universal problem with private colleges, suggesting instead the work of bad actors.

According to Statistics Canada about 1 in 5 students at Canadian post secondary institutions are international. The majority of them, close to two thirds, are at universities.