"Surge of International Students Drives Housing Prices Up"... Canada Reviews 'Student Visa Regulations'

Housing Shortage Complaints Amid Soaring Real Estate Market
Sharp Increase in Foreign Students Due to Immigration Policy
"Some Universities Prioritize Profit... Regulation Review Underway"

As claims spread that the increase in international students in Canada is a cause of the worsening housing shortage, the government is considering measures to regulate the issuance of student visas.

On the 12th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Canadian government is considering limiting the number of student visas issued to foreign international students as part of efforts to cool down the soaring real estate market.

Canadian housing prices surged by 40-50% during the pandemic period but have been somewhat adjusted since last year. According to the Teranet-National Bank (TNB) Composite Housing Index, the housing price increase rate in July rose by 2.4% month-over-month after seasonal adjustment.

However, the Canadian government is still striving to alleviate the housing shortage that citizens continue to feel. This is because a public opinion poll showed that positive ratings for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fell to an all-time low of 33% due to inflation and the housing shortage.

Some argue that in a situation where housing supply is insufficient, Prime Minister Trudeau's immigration policies have led to an influx of foreign international students, causing a surge in housing demand and real estate prices.

The current number of international students residing in Canada on student visas exceeds 807,000. This is a 130% increase compared to 350,000 in 2015 when Prime Minister Trudeau took office. According to Immigration Minister Mark Miller, the number of international students is expected to reach 900,000 this year.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. [Image source=Yonhap News]

It has been identified that 30% of the enrollment at comprehensive universities in Canada consists of foreign international students. The proportion of international students is expected to be even higher in smaller colleges and various technical schools. These institutions aggressively market to attract foreign international students by emphasizing the ease of obtaining Canadian permanent residency upon graduation.

In response, Housing Minister Sean Fraser recently stated at a cabinet retreat, "Some universities are only pursuing profits by attracting international students," and added, "Regulating the number of international students should be considered as one of the measures to alleviate the housing shortage."

Prime Minister Trudeau pointed out that the claim that the housing shortage is caused by the surge in international students is "an overly simplistic argument," but said, "We will consider all options to solve the problem."

Meanwhile, the Canadian government implemented a temporary two-year ban on foreign nationals purchasing homes in January this year to alleviate the housing shortage for citizens. However, international students, immigrants, and Canadian permanent residents were exempted from this ban.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.