Immigration restrictions target international students and migrant workers

In October 2024, the Canadian government made shocking changes to its immigration plan for the next few years. The plan now seeks to reduce the amount of temporary and permanent residents allowed to stay in Canada, in a move aiming to decrease population growth to practically zero. Immigration Canada announced that it would reduce permanent immigration levels by 20 percent and cut temporary residence rates by up to 500,000 people. Trudeau, prime minister at the time of the announcement, spoke about “giving all levels of government time to catch up” in social investments such as in healthcare and education, in order to be able to “accommodate more people in the future.” Marc Miller, Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, went on to explain that the plan was due to the pressure that increased levels of immigration had put on housing and other social services. All this comes at a time of heightened xenophobia and racism, as well as a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from right-wing politicians and groups.

The announcement marked a stark departure from the Canadian government’s position in 2019, just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the door was opened to welcome around 1.2 million new immigrants to Canada over the next three years. This was compounded by talks of labour shortages during the pandemic, which the government said needed to be filled by more immigration to avoid a recession. This plan did not take into account temporary residents such as international students and temporary foreign workers already in the country, with no apparent plan to create a pathway for permanent residence. Between 2021 and 2024, Canada’s population grew by three million people, many of them international students paying high tuition and working under very strict and limiting work regulations under their study permits, as well as temporary foreign workers vying for limited work and low salaries — often even with a work permit tied to a single employer in what amounts to indentured labour. During the pandemic, the cap on working hours for international students was lifted, further encouraging immigration. This was the intended goal of such an immigration policy: to flood the labour market with migrant workers who toil in poor conditions and for poor pay, with no intention of providing them permanent status and all to provide cheap labour for capital.

International students are heavily impacted by these new regulations. Many students who had received confirmation of acceptance from Canadian educational institutions, and who had already made the necessary plans and investments, like taking out loans and paying for accommodation and airfare, were dismayed to find their visa applications rejected due to limits on international student intake (some student and work visa applications require proof of accommodation and financial support). While international students already in Canada were informed that prerequisites for post-graduate work permits, or PGWPs, would increase, while the amount of PGWPs actually granted would be reduced. 

Canadian educational institutions, which became dependent on the high tuition which international students pay due to low provincial funding, have also been affected by these changes. Some universities and colleges have begun to cut entire programs and started layoffs and staff reductions, all affecting students and workers. Centennial College, which depends heavily on international student enrollment, cancelled 49 programs in January 2025 with an unknown amount of job losses, all while merging their five campuses into two; York University cut 18 programs, including Indigenous studies, Jewish studies, and Gender and Women’s studies. The cost of these moves is borne by students and workers, many of whom are migrants to this country.

Contrary to the promise that was sold to many of these migrant workers and students by predatory recruitment agencies and underfunded educational institutions, Canada has become a dead end for many who left their countries to seek a better life here. Some are choosing to leave, due to the rising cost of living, including rent, disillusioned by reduced prospects of employment and permanent status.

Others have chosen to struggle for justice in their schools and workplaces, such as the Naujawan Support Network, based out of Brampton, Ontario, which has done incredible work in organizing many solidarity actions in support of international students and workers suffering exploitation by school administrators and bosses. These actions have included sit-ins, encampments, and rallies to raise awareness of the specific issues facing international students and workers and putting a spotlight on the exploiters. Many of these actions have been attended by members of the YCL-LJC and the Communist Party of Canada.

Members of the YCL-LJC have also been working to organize all students, including international students, through student mobilization committees in the fight for free education and access to social services, like public healthcare, no matter the immigration status. It is important to continue the struggle for free education and to support days of action organized by the Canadian Federation of Students. These initiatives must include the active participation of student unions, clubs, and other on-campus groups, but also the active support of the trade and labour unions, especially those of post-secondary faculties and staff. Only by a united front of working people and their allies can we stand against the exploitation of international students and migrant workers.