Allotment of international student permit applications may hit 3 N.S. universities hard

Three Nova Scotia universities are facing what could be a substantial cut in the number of international students they will welcome this year — Cape Breton University (CBU), Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) and Université Ste-Anne.

That’s because the federal government has limited the province to about 13,000 international study permit applications in 2024, about 7,000 fewer than were submitted for the academic year that started last September. Previously there was no limit on international study permit applications.

On Thursday, the provincial government released an institution by institution allotment of those permit applications.

Brian Wong, Nova Scotia’s minister of advanced education, told reporters his department had “worked hard trying to make sure that that 12,900 number is allocated fairly among the institutions.”

Overall, universities will have access to about 35 per cent fewer permit applications than in previous years, but the biggest decreases are reserved for universities outside Halifax.

CBU is facing the biggest hit, a 52 per cent decrease to 5,086 applications. MSVU will have access to 44 per cent fewer, for a total of 860, and Université Ste-Anne faces a 34 per cent cut to 962.

David Dingwall, the president of CBU, told CBC News his institution is facing a major financial problem unless it is able to convince immigration officials to grant more prospective students the permits they apply for. He said the university has a success rate, or “conversion rate,” of only 30 per cent.

“If the conversion rate doesn’t go up, it’ll be a big hit,” said Dingwall. “If the conversion rate goes up in our favour, we should be OK. But you can’t take that as a given.”

The 52 per cent cut in permit applications for undergraduate courses isn’t the only problem for CBU. Dingwall said they asked for 500 applications for the university’s Cape Breton Language Centre but it was only allotted 84.

Despite the limits, Dingwall said he still planned to lead a delegation to India, Vietnam and Great Britain in June to market the school to international students and recruiters.

Allotment based on N.S. priorities: minister

The province’s largest university, Dalhousie, will have access to 1,180 permit applications, which is 70 per cent more than it had in 2023, but on par with the applications it filed in 2021. The University of King’s College will have access to almost 40 per cent more, for a total of 25.

St Francis Xavier University will be able to apply for 19 per cent more permits, or 292. Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., will have access to 14 per cent more applications, or 645, and Saint Mary’s University will see an eight per cent decrease to 1,380.

Wong said the Houston government based the allotment on Nova Scotia’s priorities, including educating people for health-care positions and jobs in the skilled trades.

“Some of our schools will continue to be successful, my hope is all of our schools will continue to be,” said Wong. “The way we have allocated them is that they are all set up for success.

“It’s early days to really know what impact this is going to have,” he added.

Province won’t compensate universities

Wong suggested that the impact of the permit application limits could be mitigated if a university becomes more successful with its applications. Currently, Ottawa rejects six out of every 10 applications that come from a Nova Scotia institution. The national average is six out of 10 are successful.

Whatever the impact, the Houston government is not considering compensating universities, which will take a financial hit if they enroll fewer international students.

“We haven’t had any conversations with any of our schools about any financial compensation,” said Wong.

But Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the Houston government may be forced to come up with some help. 

“The universities only get their money from government or students so the money is going to have to come from somewhere, and losing international students will certainly have a very serious financial impact on these institutions,” said Churchill.

Limiting applications won’t solve housing crisis: NDP MLA

New Democrat MLA Lisa Lachance, whose downtown Halifax constituency includes the province’s largest universities, said these limits would create more uncertainty for students and university communities.

“We still need to think about housing and other supports and are we doing enough to make international students feel at home because we want them to be at home here,” said Lachance. 

In January, the federal government announced it would cap the number of international study permit applications, along with other changes. The move is an attempt to address concerns about whether students can find adequate places to live amid a national housing crisis and instances in which international students were being taken advantage of by recruitment agencies.

Lachance said limiting permit applications wouldn’t solve those problems.

“This alone won’t have an impact on students’ ability to access housing, or access adequate food security, employment,” said Lachance.