On Oct. 24, the federal government announced Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan to reduce the number of permanent and temporary residents admitted into the country. This decision has significantly impacted enrollment numbers and program offerings at Fanshawe College. According to Fanshawe president Peter Devlin, approximately 5,000 fewer international students will enroll next semester, which could have severe implications for the college’s financial outlook and academic operations.

Each year, the federal Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada publishes a new Immigration Levels Plan to guide its operations and set targets for immigration in Canada.

For 2025, admissions for permanent residents will cap at 395,000, a decrease from the target of 485,000 and the earlier announced target of 500,000 in the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan. This reduction will extend over the next few years, with targets dropping to 380,000 in 2026 and further down to 365,000 in 2027.

The new plan aims to reduce the temporary resident population, including international students, from seven per cent to five per cent by 2026. The number of study permits for international students will be limited to 437,000 for 2025 and 2026, a significant decrease from previous years.

Additionally, regulations for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) will be tightened, with work permits capped at 82,000 annually for the next three years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized businesses for exploiting foreign labour and has called for reform. On Aug. 26, the government suspended processing labour market impact assessments for the low-wage stream in areas with an unemployment rate of six per cent or higher, and it reduced the TFWP work permit duration for this group to one year, down from two years.

In a note to faculty on Oct. 23, Devlin estimated that Fanshawe will experience a 47 per cent drop in Level 1 international students enrolling for the January 2025 semester, with a 39 per cent decrease projected for May. This decline will result in roughly 5,000 fewer international students next year, impacting the college’s revenue, class sizes, and academic offerings.

In 2018, Fanshawe College had just over 4,000 international students enrolled. However, since international students typically pay higher tuition fees, the international student population has grown substantially in recent years, with approximately 11,700 permits issued in 2023 and 2024, the third-highest number among Canadian higher education institutions.

The federal government’s policy shift aims to address pressing issues, including housing shortages, high rental costs, and an overreliance on temporary labour in specific industries.

However, the government will continue its policy of increasing targets for admissions of French-speaking immigrants settling outside Quebec as a percentage of overall permanent residence admissions, set at 8.5 per cent for 2025, 9.5 per cent for 2026, and 10 per cent for 2027. Trudeau acknowledged that immigration remains vital to the Canadian economy but suggested that political pressures partly drove the reduction.

Despite these challenges, Devlin expressed confidence in Fanshawe’s long-term stability and commitment to providing quality education. He reassured staff that while uncertainty lies ahead, the college is adapting to the new immigration environment and remains optimistic about its future.