Conestoga College says there will be a drop of over 50 per cent in its current international enrolment after the province introduced its plan for those students on Wednesday.
“Our allocation was set at less than 50 per cent of our current international enrolment,” a statement from the school said. “With this news, we will assess the enrolment and operational impacts and communicate more as details become available.”
The school says it will continue with plans to build campuses and housing in Waterloo, Guelph and Kitchener with projects in those cities having a combined spend of $221 million.
The school is currently home to 45,000 students across all its campuses in Waterloo Region, Guelph, Brantford, Ingersoll, Stratford and Milton.
That number has grown rapidly over the past decade as the school has relied on an influx of international students. It currently has 30,000.
Back in January, the federal government announced a two-year cap on foreign students being allowed into Canada. Immigration Minister Miller set the 2024 cap at around 364,000 approved study permits – a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023.
That number was to be spread across the Canada and on Wednesday the Ontario government disclosed details on how it allocating its numbers.
Ninety-six percent of the international students permitted to study in Ontario will be attending public institutions, with the remaining four per cent heading to language schools, private universities and other select institutions with no international students directed to private career colleges.
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In a release, the province noted that “colleges with public-private college partnerships and Conestoga College will see the largest decline.”
Conestoga responded to the announcement by saying, “Conestoga has received its allocation for international students for 2024, and we remain committed to working collaboratively with all government partners to ensure we continue supporting a workforce that is equipped with the skills and knowledge to succeed in key sectors.”
It also noted that the employment rate for its international grads was nearly identical to that of local grads.
The province said that universities and colleges will also be required to “have a guarantee that housing options” are available for international students. Conestoga has come under fire for a lack of housing at its campuses, as it currently has less than 1,000 beds for students. It recently announced the acquisition of more student housing, but that will only add a few more hundred beds to the total.
Ontario’s budget this week indicated that the lost international student revenue in the college sector will total about $3 billion over two years.
*With files from Global News and the Canadian Press
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