Allowing international students to work more than 20 hours a week could distract from their studies and undermine the objective of temporary foreign worker programs, public servants warned the federal government in 2022.In 2022, then-immigration minister Sean Fraser approved a temporary policy to allow international students to work more than 20 hours per week.
That scrutiny led the federal government to introduce a cap on study permits over the next two years as it tries to get a handle on the program.More than 900,000 foreign students had visas to study in Canada last year, which is more than three times the number 10 years ago. Fraser ultimately announced in October 2022 that the federal government would waive the restriction until the end of 2023 to ease labour shortages across the country.
In December, Immigration Minister Marc Miller extended the policy until April 30, 2024, and floated the idea of setting the cap at 30 hours a week thereafter. Miller said internal work by the department shows more than 80 per cent of international students are currently working more than 20 hours a week.Cap on international study permits sparks fear of rising tuition, program cuts, layoffs on campus