‘Exacerbate labour shortages’: Ontario public college grads no longer guaranteed work visas

The group representing public colleges in Ontario says a further tightening of work permits for international students “jeopardizes” the province’s ability to meet “pressing labour market needs” as colleges come to terms with significantly reduced complements of foreign students.

Marketa Evans, the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, wrote an open letter to the federal government Tuesday, urging Ottawa to reconsider its work permit cap and suggesting the new rules will hurt the province’s economy.

In mid-September, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced a further reduction in the number of international students and a move to “better align” graduate study permits with “labour market needs.”

That realignment means that international students attending public colleges in Ontario will no longer be automatically eligible for a work permit — and will instead have to qualify in one of the federal government’s list of priority areas to stay.

“Ontario’s public college graduates are integral to solving well known and pressing labour shortages in health care, childcare, automotive, dental care, skilled trades, transportation, construction, energy, manufacturing and more,” Evans wrote in her letter to the federal government.

“Colleges Ontario therefore urges meaningful consultation with the province as a national approach will certainly miss important economic drivers. Simply put, this policy undercuts the availability of workers who sustain Ontario’s economy and prosperity.”

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A spokesperson for the federal government told Global News the end of automatic work permits was part of a push to drive Canada’s temporary workers down from 6.5 per cent to five per cent of the overall population.

Graduates from public universities will remain eligible for automatic work permits but those attending public colleges starting on Nov. 1 will need to graduate with a diploma “linked to occupations in long-term shortage” to get the same benefit.

The federal government lists French language, health care, STEM, trades, transport and agriculture as the categories in the most need of international workers.

Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities said it was frustrated by a lack of consultation between Ottawa and Ontario’s college sector.

“It is disappointing that the federal government did not take time to meaningfully consult with the college and university sector to better understand the impact of their decision making,” a spokesperson told Global News.

“As we work to understand the full impact and specific details of the federal government’s recent changes, we will continue working with our college and university partners, including Colleges Ontario, to ensure their continued success and financial sustainability.”

The removal of automatic study permits for public college graduates in Ontario is the latest change in a year that has seen a massive overhaul of international students across the country, hitting Ontario the hardest.

In January, the federal government announced a cap on international students, which meant Ontario would lose roughly half its international students. Over several years, with fees frozen, international student fees had been used by colleges and universities to keep finances healthy.

After a scramble to work out how to support the sector, the Ford government announced $1.3 billion for the post-secondary education sector — below the $2.5 billion recommended by an expert panel — and opted to keep a cap on tuition fees.

Then, in March, Ontario announced that both universities and colleges would need to guarantee housing for international students, allocating almost the entire cap to the public sector.

Twenty-two of the province’s 23 universities were given international student quotas, which meant they could accept the same number of students as they had in 2023. Meanwhile, the majority of colleges were told to cut their numbers, with 11 of 24 given quotas that matched the number they had accepted the previous year.

With the new college year now underway and public institutions adapting to lower volumes of international students, Colleges Ontario said the latest federal change will make the situation worse and hurt the province’s economy.

The group claims the move came without consultations and will “exacerbate labour shortages, stall economic growth and damage the province’s ability to compete globally.” In particular, the group said that the national approach to labour statistics would be to the detriment of Ontario.

“We urge the federal government to work collaboratively with the province to ensure that the needs of Ontarians are taken into consideration under this new work permit system,” Evans wrote.