Quebec announces cap on international post-secondary students

The Quebec government is reducing the number of international students that can enrol in Quebec's post-secondary institutions this year by 20 per cent.

The Immigration Ministry published the maximum number of applications it will process this year from new international students in Wednesday's edition of the province's Official Gazette. 

The quotas, which are broken down by institution and degree type, significantly reduce the number of international students that will be admitted into the province's collegiate network this fall. The government also stabilizes enrolment of international students into Quebec's universities according to 2024 levels.

Student visas are issued by the federal government, however, in Quebec, students from abroad must also obtain a Québec Acceptance Certificate, known as a CAQ, from the provincial government. Prospective students need to obtain their CAQ before applying for a study permit.

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Quebec cutting number of foreign students that can enrol in schools in the province

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The CAQ government is reducing how many applications it will process for new international students by about 20 per cent starting this year.

In 2024, the Education Ministry processed 48,748 CAQ applications by international students entering the collegiate network, according to data from the ministry obtained by Radio-Canada. That number is now capped at 29,200.

The quota for universities stands at 63,299 applications. Including vocational colleges, Quebec will process a maximum of 124,760 applications between Feb. 26, 2025 and 2026 — 20 per cent less than last year.

The Quebec government adopted a bill in December 2024, giving the Education Ministry the power to restrict enrolment of international students, in an effort to reduce overall immigration to the province.

The number of international students in Quebec jumped by 140 per cent — from 50,000 to nearly 120,000 — between 2014 and 2023, according to a news release published Wednesday by the Immigration Ministry.

CEGEP federation pans decision 

The Fédération des cégeps published a news release late Wednesday, saying CEGEPs are paying the price for issues that occurred outside the public network.

"By restricting international students' access to CEGEPs, the government is targeting a network that plays an essential role in Quebec's educational and economic vitality," says Marie Montpetit, the federation's CEO and president, in the news release.

CEGEPs host around 9,000 international students annually, making up five per cent of their total enrolment and just 1.4 per cent of Quebec's non-permanent residents, the federation says. This small proportion has minimal impact on infrastructure and services but is crucial for sustaining many programs, it says.

The federation argues that broad quotas could disrupt this delicate balance, hindering talent attraction, regional development and the supply of a skilled workforce.

Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arseneau told reporters Wednesday morning that he welcomes the new quotas but wish they had come sooner.

"It is in the direction of what we proposed last fall, but it's too little too late because [it's] more than doubled, they want to reduce it a bit," he said referring to the number of international students in the province. 

The interim leader of Quebec's Liberal Party Marc Tanguay, for his part, says that something has to be done about people who take advantage of Quebec's education system to immigrate into Canada, without closing the door on skilled labour.

Many of the new quotas target Quebec's private colleges which have been used in the past as a pathway to immigration into the province.

"Those who are not respecting the rules, they have to be stopped. That being said, to say that we will not continue our race to have people who are very skilled, talented, want to learn here, learn French and to live here in Quebec, I think we have to be careful and to be able to welcome them," said Tanguay. 

According to Université de Montréal rector Daniel Jutras, the quotas send the wrong message, he told Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.

"International students have been placed in the same basket as those who maybe abuse the system and we're treating those people in the same way as someone who maybe is coming to Quebec to pursue a PhD in IT or a masters in social work," he said.