Majority of immigrants support stricter policies on international student program

A new poll commissioned by Leger exclusively for OMNI found that two-thirds of immigrants (67 per cent), particularly those who have been in Canada for over six years, back stricter international student policies. Support for stricter policies jumps to 77 per cent among South Asian immigrants in particular.

Some students already in Canada, however, are feeling the squeeze. Yuehan An, a Chinese national, moved to Toronto three years ago to pursue a business degree.

He says recent changes to the eligibility criteria for the Post-Graduation Work Permit that restrict access to college students have him worried he’s not competitive enough.

“Doing a Master’s Degree is like mandatory for me,” he told OMNI News.

The new policy changes are affecting graduate students too, risking Canada’s attractiveness for new talent, according to student Sherry Kashi.

Staying in Canada is getting harder

Originally from Iran, Kashi came to Canada as an international student in 2019, became a permanent resident, and is now a PhD candidate at York University.

“[International students] know that staying in Canada is getting harder, the path to permanent residency is getting harder,” she told OMNI News. “They are waking up every day just checking the news first. They know it’s going to be harder, but still they are not certain how hard it’s going to be.”

However, international students are at the heart of a growing debate about the economic impact of immigration – an issue that could play a key role at the ballot boxes when Canadians head to the polls.

The OMNI-Leger poll found that 8 in 10 immigrants believe immigration will be an important issue in the next federal election, while over half of respondents said immigration policies put forward for the election will influence the way they vote.

Speaking to OMNI News Tuesday in response to the released poll data, Immigration Minister Marc Miller was glad to hear of the support for recent measures but says they need to work.

“We don’t do everything by poll, it’s nice to know that the measure is popular. I think it’s even more important to know that these measures actually work. Tentatively we see that these measures are working, it makes for a more manageable international student visa program,” the minister told OMNI News.

Ottawa started clamping down on foreign students in January, and has since brought in restrictions aimed at reining in the number of temporary residents Miller said have “exploded” in the last few years.

However, while the survey shows widespread support for a crackdown, some are accusing Ottawa of “[throwing] international students under the bus.”

International students are too easy to blame

Yvonne Su, the director of the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, says she doesn’t disagree with the need to cap the number of international students, but criticizes the “turbulent” rollout of the new policies, highlighting a lack of consultation with key players.

Michael McDonald, with Colleges and Institutes Canada, adds that the lack of collaboration with the sector and with the provinces is “deeply concerning.”

The association advocating for the country’s post-secondary institutions warns that recent changes to the International Student Program “will actually make many of our pressing challenges so much more difficult to address,” and will deepen the funding crisis facing Canada’s public education system.

McDonald believes the new measures have created uncertainty for both the students and the communities that rely on them to fill roles in strategic sectors of the economy.

One in 4 immigrants interviewed by Leger for OMNI, and particularly younger immigrants and those who identify as BIPoC, think new and proposed rules are sufficient to prevent abuses within the International Student Program.

Su, however, highlights the racial dimension of the issue, calling for an honest discussion on the real-life implications of the blame game around international students.

“When we talk about international students we are not talking about the ones from Britain, from Germany, from Australia, which are also here,” she said.

“To a certain extent, Canada invited them here. We asked them to come and we told them the stories of permanent residency. We told them the stories of them being able to work and earn a lot of money. We didn’t explain the hardship. And we definitely didn’t explain the racism and xenophobia.”

The OMNI-Leger online poll was conducted between August 28th to September 9th, among a random selection of surveyed 1500 respondents who were not born in Canada. A probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.