ManitobaUniversity officials and students in Manitoba say they are disappointed after the federal government announced plans to significantly decrease the number of international students who will be permitted to study in Canada.Federal government says international student permits will be cut by more than half over next 3 yearsDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Nov 05, 2025 9:55 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesUniversity of Winnipeg director of government and community engagement Daniel Leonard says the university was disappointed to learn that the federal government plans to significantly decrease the number of international students who will be permitted to study in Canada. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)University officials and students in Manitoba say they are disappointed after the federal government announced plans to significantly decrease the number of international students who will be permitted to study in Canada.“There is so much value in local students meeting and interacting with international students, and hearing stories about education abroad outside of Canada, outside of Manitoba,” University of Winnipeg student Alexandra Kretskaya said. “So I think it’s going to take a toll on local students as well.”On Tuesday, federal Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne delivered the latest federal budget, which includes plans to bring Canada’s immigration levels down to what the government is calling “sustainable levels.”In 2024, the Liberal government, under then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they planned to issue 305,900 international student permits in 2026, and another 305,900 in 2027.The Liberals, now under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, say those numbers will drop by more than half, with plans to issue 155,000 permits in 2026 and 150,000 in both 2027 and 2028. University of Winnipeg student Alexandra Kretskaya said she was disappointed to learn that the federal government plans to significantly decrease the number of international students who will be permitted to study in Canada. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)In the budget, the government says in 2018, 3.3 per cent of the population were temporary residents, but by last year that number had more than doubled which is putting pressure on housing supplies, as well as health care and schools.University of Manitoba president and vice-chancellor Michael Benarroch said the university had already been seeing a decrease in international students over the last few years, but has been able to keep enrolment “stable” due to an increase in local students. But he said those drops in international students will have an impact on the university’s bottom line, as international students typically pay as much as 3½ times as much for tuition as local students.University of Manitoba president and vice-chancellor Michael Benarroch said plans by the federal government to significantly reduce the number of international students permits issued will have effects on the university’s bottom line. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)“So we’re not making it up in terms of revenue,” Benarroch said. “Our tuition revenue is dropping as a result of the fall of international students, so from a budgetary standpoint it becomes challenging, because tuition is such a large part of our revenue.”Benarroch said he was disappointed to see the federal government making the cuts to international student permits, and he does believe it is a trend that will continue.“So I think what we’re seeing is, this is the new environment in Canada,” he said. “The drop in international students is not temporary, not just for a year, but this is what we can expect going into the future.”He added the university has been focused on finding ways to attract more domestic students, due to the drop in international students.University of Winnipeg director of government and community engagement Daniel Leonard says the university will likely take a financial hit due to the changes, but said the impacts go well beyond dollars and cents. “Our international students bring so much,” Leonard said. “They bring so much to our classrooms. They bring a lot of life to our universities, they bring ideas, they bring a global perspective, and those perspectives can help us be more competitive on the global stage.“And so we want to continue to emphasize to the government that there’s a real missed opportunity here, and we’ll continue to work with the government to see how we can attract international students back to Canada.”He said the university will also be focused on finding ways to enrol more domestic students, due to the drop in international students. In an email, a spokesperson with RRC Polytech said the institution is now reviewing the immigration changes announced in the 2025 federal budget, and said it is too early to speculate on what the changes will mean for future enrolments.”This fall, despite strong domestic enrolment, international student numbers declined, and we expect that trend to continue,” the spokesperson said. ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Josh Crabb
Plans to cut number of international students in Canada raises alarm bells at Manitoba universities
