International student enrollment at Canadian public colleges and universities declined by 6.9 percent during the 2024 to 2025 academic year. This drop follows new government restrictions on international student numbers, including a study permit cap introduced in January 2024.

New data from Statistics Canada shows international enrolments decreased by 39,582 compared with the previous academic year. Meanwhile, Canadian domestic enrolments increased by 37,626, or 2.1 percent. Overall postsecondary enrolment remained almost unchanged at 2.3 million students.

The decline in international students was more pronounced at colleges, which saw a 7.7 percent drop, or 22,323 students. Universities experienced a 6.1 percent decline, representing 17,259 fewer international students.

Ontario recorded the largest international enrolment declines. College enrolment in the province fell by 28,875, a 13.6 percent decrease, while university enrolment dropped by 7,455, or 6.7 percent. British Columbia universities saw 5,346 fewer international enrolments, a 10.6 percent drop, and Manitoba colleges had 732 fewer enrolments, a 13.4 percent decline.

Students from India, China, and the Philippines accounted for 83.4 percent of the overall international enrolment decline. Enrolments from India fell by 26,550, or 11.9 percent. China saw a decrease of 4,368, or 6.6 percent, and the Philippines experienced a drop of 3,654, or 18.6 percent.

International enrolment fell across most fields of study. Business and administration recorded the largest decline at both colleges and universities. Health care was an exception, with international enrolment increasing in that field at both colleges and universities. Domestic enrolment increased across most fields, with engineering and engineering technology adding 6,327 students at universities and health care adding 6,117 students at colleges.

The federal government introduced the study permit cap in January 2024 as part of a broader policy direction. This policy later included a commitment to reduce temporary residents to under five percent of Canada’s population.

The decline in international students carries significant financial implications for institutions. International students pay substantially higher tuition fees than Canadian students, with average undergraduate tuition for international students being more than five times higher. Replacing international students with an equal number of domestic students would still result in a substantial loss of tuition revenue.

The Globe and Mail reported that Canadian student enrolment grew at its fastest pace in more than 15 years. This may be partly due to a weaker job market for younger Canadians, encouraging more to pursue postsecondary education. Provinces have also expanded spaces for domestic students in areas facing labor shortages.

The number of new international students arriving in Canada has fallen sharply since the 2024 to 2025 academic year. This suggests the decline in international enrolment will likely become more pronounced in subsequent data.

Despite the enrolment drop, 724,071 students graduated from Canadian public postsecondary institutions during the 2024 calendar year, an increase of 9.2 percent from 2023. International college graduates increased by 44,328, or 31.3 percent. International students accounted for 55.5 percent of graduates from short cycle tertiary programs in 2024, compared with 7.5 percent in 2009.