By Mata Press Service

International students in Canada are struggling to find affordable places to stay, as rental prices skyrocket in major cities across the country.

With over 807,000 international students in Canada in 2022, many are facing discrimination in the rental market, rent gouging, rights abuses, and sexual harassment say international education experts.

They argue that post-secondary institutions need to coordinate with local governments to address the shortage of supply and high rents.

Average rents nationally jumped more than 10 percent last year and are expected to rise again this year, although rents in hotter markets, such as Toronto and Vancouver, are up significantly more.

The Canadian government, under pressure over the rising cost of housing, could consider capping foreign student visas, which have rocketed in recent years, new Housing Minister Sean Fraser said this week.

Official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in 2022, up from 275,000 in 2012.

Fraser, who was immigration minister before taking up his job last month, said the sharp rise in the number of students was putting pronounced pressure on some housing markets.

Asked whether a cap could be imposed on the number of foreign students, he said, "I think that is one of the options that we ought to consider." The government has not yet made a decision, he added.

"We've got temporary immigration programs that were never designed to see such explosive growth in such a short period," Fraser told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet retreat in the Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island.

The official opposition Conservative Party, ahead in the polls of a federal election which must be held by October 2025, says the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not doing enough to tackle the housing issue.

Canada, which has a population of around 39.5 million people, plans to take in a record 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025. Fraser said limiting the number of newcomers was not the answer.

Continuing with a high-growth immigration strategy could widen the housing shortfall by about a half-million units within just two years, warned a recent report from the TD Bank.

Amid a continued housing crunch and sky-high costs of living, the federal government’s immigration targets and plans for international students are facing renewed scrutiny, reported Global News.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in an interview with The Canadian Press that international student enrolments may need to be adjusted while noting that the government has no plans to cut immigration numbers.

Steve Pomeroy, a Carleton University Centre for Urban Research and Education (CURE) policy research consultant and senior research fellow says international students and temporary foreign workers put particular pressure on Canada’s rental market.

In an interview with the National Post, Pomeroy said: “Temporary foreign workers and students are going to be renters, as opposed to owners,”

More visiting students, he said, create inordinate demand at the very bottom of the rental market, where there’s already a tight market for low-income workers, fixed-income seniors and those who rely on social assistance.

According to the Post, most international students coming to Canada flock to Ontario, which in 2022 saw over 411,000 foreign students enrolled in the province’s post-secondary institutions.

British Columbia ranked second with 164,000 students last year, followed by Quebec with 93,000, Alberta with 43,000 and Manitoba with 22,000.

While India’s 319,130 international students rank as Canada’s biggest cohort, followed by China with 100,075, the Philippines is seeing big bumps in the number of their students coming here.

Canada issued 25,295 study permits to Filipino students to study here in 2022, a 76 percent increase from the 14,355 visas issued to students from that country in 2021.

As of June 2023, 11,400 permits were issued to students from the Philippines.

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), in its latest report titled Living in The Red, said nearly 3 in 4 students (72%) reported they spent 30% or more of their income towards housing costs.

In addition, nearly 2 in 5 students experienced food insecurity in the past year, with this trend only intensifying as a result of the pandemic, said the report.

“Canada’s learners have faced significant financial barriers over the past year. We should not be in a place where students’ finances are pushed closer to the brink with each grocery trip. Students are struggling to afford the essentials, and this report makes that clear.” Sadie, McAlear, CASA Chair.

Considering the findings of the report, CASA stands behind the following principles:

•  The federal government has an integral role to play in ensuring that all post-secondary students across Canada have the resources and support they need to reach their full potential. 
•  The federal government must maintain accurate and up-to-date data regarding student housing and student food insecurity across Canada.
•  Post-secondary students have access to affordable and accessible food and housing options that benefit not only all students, but their communities, the economy, and Canadian society as a whole.

Meanwhile, post-secondary institutions say they're already building housing, but need more support from the federal government to match demand, reported CBC.

National organizations like Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) have asked for expanded eligibility in funding programs through the National Housing Strategy to help get more housing projects off the ground.

"Expanding access to low-cost financing to build housing, broadening eligibility for programs through the National Housing Strategy and prioritizing affordable housing projects will enable Canada to better meet its diverse and growing housing needs," Philip Landon, interim CEO and president of Universities Canada, said in an email to CBC. – with agencies