Canada’s approval of new international student permits has plunged to its lowest level in a decade, even deeper than during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Ottawa’s strict caps on post-secondary admissions are behind the decline, according to new data from ApplyBoard. The platform projects that the federal government will only approve 80,000 new study permits in 2025, a 62% decline from 2024 and well below pre-pandemic levels. For comparison, Canada approved around 92,000 new permits at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
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Screenshot [ApplyBoard’s – Canada’s Student Cap Causes Greater Declines Than Pandemic]
ApplyBoard warned that the sharp drop would make 2025 “one of the most competitive years ever” for students looking to begin studies in Canada.
Colleges are bearing the brunt of the cap, with extensions now accounting for nearly 80% of all study permits and fewer than 30,000 new approvals expected for college programs nationwide. Universities, meanwhile, are showing a modest recovery, with approval rates rising from 30% in May to 55% in August, but opportunities remain limited.
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The report also highlights that students from India, the Philippines and several African countries face the lowest approval rates, threatening campus diversity across Canada.
For the first time, students already in Canada will account for nearly two-thirds of all post-secondary study permits issued this year, underscoring how extensions have outpaced new approvals.
If current trends persist, ApplyBoard predicts that Canada’s total international student population could decline by up to 50% in 2026, as fewer new students replace graduating cohorts.
Despite the slowdown, 95% of international students surveyed by ApplyBoard said they still aspire to study in Canada, citing its academic standards, work opportunities after graduation and multicultural environment.
“Even as short-term challenges persist, students’ confidence in Canada’s long-term value remains remarkably strong,” the report concludes.
