Canada is capping student visas. Why now? And will it help?

In Today’s Big Story Podcast, over the past several years, the number of international students Canada admits has exploded — to more than one million in 2023. While these students have struggled to find housing and work, they’ve also often been deceived by marketers in their home country, promising a top-tier education that they don’t actually get.

“[International students] may find that they go to school here, end up with a diploma that doesn’t match labour market outcomes. They may be able to work as an Uber driver or in a Walmart. But eventually they might end up frustrated and end up going home,” says Laura Dhillon Kane, Ottawa bureau chief, Bloomberg news.

“And they’ve taken out large loans or spent all their savings to try to come to a country for a dream that doesn’t come true for them.”

Will the federal government’s cap, announced Monday, help ease the burden, both on students themselves and the Canadian rental market? What does it mean for schools that rely on these students for revenue? And how did they problem become so massive the government thought this action needed to be taken?

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.