How the cap on international students is hurting Alberta's smaller post-secondary schools
Even though Alberta has room for more students, institutions are seeing drastic drops in enrolment
As post-secondary institutions across Canada grapple with the impact of having fewer international students, Alberta's smaller colleges and polytechnics say it's disproportionately hurting local communities and school budgets.
On the surface, the tighter restrictions shouldn't affect schools in Alberta, given that the number of international students is well below the allowable maximum. The problem is that international students have stopped applying.
Alberta colleges and polytechnics say applications are down for the 2025-26 school year, dropping by as much as 80 per cent. Leadership at Alberta schools chalk it up to fewer opportunities for post-graduate work permits and changing perceptions of Canadian schools from abroad.
"We used to be fairly stable. People knew the rules, how it worked," said Kevin Shufflebotham, president and CEO of Medicine Hat College.
"And now with all the policy changes, the students are deciding to go to other countries, which are more stable than we currently are being perceived."
Caps introduced to protect students
The federal government first introduced a cap on international students in January 2024, aiming at institutions that took advantage of them by charging high tuition fees but operating under-resourced campuses. In September, the government further tightened the number of undergraduate study permits it would approve.
Ottawa expects to approve permits for 28,773 international undergraduate students for Alberta in 2025 — a fraction of the provincial maximum, which is just over 42,000. Canada plans to accept a total of 437,000 international students, a 10 per cent decrease from 2024.
Shufflebotham said Medicine Hat College is seeing a decrease of almost 80 per cent in applications from international students for next fall.
It's a familiar story for other smaller post-secondary schools. At Red Deer Polytechnic, officials say enrolment is expected to go down 65 per cent over two years. Lethbridge Polytechnic expects a drop of 50 per cent for next year.
The financial bottom line
Domestic tuition increases are capped in Alberta. That, alongside lower government grants and inflationary pressures, has left many post-secondaries short of cash — and with few available revenue options.
Before the federal visa cap, international students were one of the last remaining areas for revenue growth, with international undergraduates paying more than four times as much tuition on average as domestic students.
But, "international students are no longer viewing Canada as a destination of choice," a spokesperson for Lethbridge Polytechnic said in an email.
Whether the drop in enrolment is a result of Canada's reputation, a lack of understanding of new regulations or less opportunity to work after graduation, fewer international students means schools are losing out on millions of dollars.
"We've been impacted significantly," said Stuart Cullum, president of Red Deer Polytechnic.
The school is facing a deficit of $10 million in its 2025-26 budget that it plans to pay off over three years. As a result, Cullum said 35 to 40 positions and five programs will be eliminated.
Many students come to study at polytechnics to get jobs that are in high demand, and then work in Canada. But at Red Deer Polytechnic, half of the programs are no longer eligible for postgraduate work permits.
Cullum said that reduction in work permits is disproportionately impacting colleges and polytechnics, compared to Alberta's universities.
In some of the small communities these colleges call home, that loss of postgraduate work permits is also felt in the local economy.
Alice Wainwright Stewart, president and CEO of Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alta., said international students stock shelves in the Home Depot, manage the local Sobey's and work at accounting firms in town.
"We won't notice it now, but I would say in two years time ... that will be noticeable for our employers," Wainwright Stewart said.
The Alberta ministry of advanced education did not provide a comment about the financial pressures at post-secondary schools in the province.
Language instruction grants cut
Because Canada is bringing in fewer newcomers, the federal government has also reduced funding that post-secondaries draw on for English language instruction.
This April, Bow Valley College is discontinuing its Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program following a significant reduction in funding from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
"This decision will cost a great deal," a memo from the faculty association read. It said the cut could impact the 121 faculty members who work through the program and approximately 1,300 students will no longer be able to continue their studies.
Lethbridge Polytechnic will close its English Language Centre after this June. A statement from Brad Donaldson, the institution's president and CEO, said the closure will impact 200 students and 20 employees.
In a statement, the IRCC said resources available for settlement services depend on how many newcomers are expected.
"Since fewer newcomers are expected in 2025-2027, available resources have been reduced to match this decrease, and this has resulted in a reduction in service providers," the statement read.
Cullum, the Red Deer Polytechnic president, said the financial constraints put on schools is not setting them up for success at time when Canada is looking to become more productive and self-sustaining.
"This is not a time where we want our colleges and our polytechnics to be contracting," Cullum said. "But that's what's happening."
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