Canada’s international student program is facing fresh scrutiny as the federal Auditor General prepares to investigate how the system has ballooned in recent years, raising red flags over rising asylum claims, youth unemployment, and housing pressures.
The audit, expected to be tabled in Parliament in 2026, is currently in its early planning phase, according to a statement provided Monday by Claire Baudrey, spokesperson for Auditor General Karen Hogan.
“As the audit is in the planning phase, providing information on scope and timelines is premature,” Baudrey said.
Critics argue the federal government was unprepared for the volume of international student admissions in recent years, resulting in unintended fallout. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has tied rising youth unemployment and worsening housing affordability to unchecked growth in temporary immigration streams, though he has stopped short of directly blaming international students.
“We need more people leaving than coming” into Canada, Poilievre remarked last week, reiterating his call from June for “severe limits” on population growth to allow domestic infrastructure and services to recover.
The government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, has signalled a similar concern, with Carney instructing his cabinet to bring immigration to “sustainable levels” in mandate letters issued post-election.
Adding further complexity, international students are increasingly turning to the asylum system. In 2024, 20,245 asylum claims were filed by international students, a record-breaking figure nearly twice the 2023 total and six times higher than in 2019. And the trend isn’t slowing down.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, over 5,500 asylum claims have already been filed, a 22% increase from the same period last year, putting the country on pace to exceed 2024’s record.
While these students often arrive on study permits with hopes of transitioning to permanent residency, many are now resorting to refugee claims, raising questions about the accessibility and clarity of traditional immigration pathways.
Ottawa has responded with stricter policies, including a nationwide cap on new study permit applications introduced last fall. The government plans further consultations this summer to decide future intake levels.
But the policy shift has created a financial shockwave across Canada’s post-secondary sector, particularly for colleges and smaller universities heavily reliant on international tuition. Several institutions have already implemented hiring freezes and layoffs as a result of reduced enrollment projections.
The upcoming audit is expected to examine how the international student program has been managed and whether it aligns with Canada’s broader immigration and economic objectives. While the review is still in its early stages, it signals a critical re-evaluation of a program that has become both a financial lifeline for institutions and a flashpoint in Canada’s immigration debate.
With asylum claims rising and institutional finances in flux, the findings could shape the future of Canada’s approach to international education and temporary immigration, and help determine whether the current system is sustainable.
