A record-breaking number of international students will enter Canada in 2023

Immigration has become one of the hottest issues in Canadian politics as of late but the worry the country is letting in more individuals than it can handle has been intensifying.  

Justin Trudeau’s government revealed its plan to up the country's immigration targets to 1.45 million newcomers by 2025 and the scheme has many Canaidans very concerned.

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One of the biggest worries among most Canadians is the skyrocketing cost of housing in the country, a situation a majority believe is being made worse by immigration targets. 

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Polling from Nanos Research Group commissioned by Bloomberg News discovered two out of three people thought the country’s immigration targets would affect housing costs. 

Nanos Research Group founder and chief data scientist Nik Nanos told Bloomberg that while Canadians supported immigration policies, increasing the number of newcomers during a time of “stress on the housing market” was dampening enthusiasm for policies. 

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This dampened enthusiasm for immigration policies among Canadians was commented on recently by Canada’s Immigration Minister in an appearance on CBC's The House.

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Minister Marc Miller commented on concerns regarding the skyrocketing number of new international students being admitted into the country, noting worries weren’t just about the pressure students put on housing but also the integrity of the immigration system. 

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"It is an ecosystem in Canada that is very lucrative and it's come with some perverse effects: some fraud in the system, some people taking advantage of what is seen as a backdoor entry into Canada, but also pressure in a number of areas,” Miller said. 

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One of the areas in which international students are adding pressure is housing Miller added, though CBC News noted that he shied away from actually committing to a hard cap on the number of global learners that would be allowed into the country. 

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"Just putting a hard cap, which got a lot of public play over the last few days, is not the only solution to this," Miller explained. "Core to this is actually trying to figure out what the problem is we're trying to solve for. 

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“It isn't entirely housing,” Miller added, “it isn't entirely housing, it's more appropriately the integrity of the system that has mushroomed, ballooned in the past couple of years."

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CBC News reported that the idea of a cap on the number of international students was floated by the newly appointed Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities. 

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Fraser previously served as Canada’s Immigration Minister before a recent shakeup in Trudeau’s cabinet that saw me move positions and Miller take over the role of sorting out how to balance Canada’s immigration needs with its economic realities.

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Reuters noted Canada is set to bring in about 900,000 international students this year according to figures revealed by Miller, a number it reported was “more than at any point in history and roughly triple the number who entered the country a decade ago.”

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Universities and colleges are deeply opposed to a cap on international students, and in a statement to The House, the National Association of Career Colleges said that these students were required “to produce the skilled workers Canada most desperately needs.”  

Private and public universities and colleges in Canada generate anywhere between $20 and $30 billion dollars annually in revenue from international students Miller explained, according to Reuters, which might explain why they would be opposed to a future cap.