Canada’s International Student Cap: Canadian colleges and universities are facing a hard time bringing in international students. Recruitment teams are doing more work than before, but many are still missing their enrolment targets.
The main problem is not only the student cap. Canada welcomed about 61% fewer new international students in 2025 than in 2024. The country received around 115,385 new students, which was 177,595 fewer than the year before. The number of study permit holders also fell sharply.
Canada has also set a lower target for 2026. The government expects about 155,000 new international student arrivals this year. At the same time, study permit refusals have gone up. The refusal rate for new study permit applications reached 59% in 2025, compared with 52% in 2024.
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Why Students are becoming more careful
Immigration rules have changed a lot in a short time which includes changes to the post-graduation work permit, or PGWP. Since November 2024, many applicants need to show language skills. Students in many non-degree programs also need to graduate from an eligible field of study. The eligible field list was changed in 2025 and has been frozen for 2026.
For students spending several years and a lot of family money on education, changing rules can make Canada feel less certain. A student may decide to study in another country instead.
This is making the old recruitment method less useful. In the past, colleges could keep getting more leads, applications and students. Now there are fewer students coming into the process, so losing one at any stage can have a much bigger effect.
Six Places where Students can be Lost
When Departments Don’t Work Together
The biggest problem can happen between different departments. Recruitment may handle the student first, then admissions takes over. Later, the registrar, finance and student services may become involved. Each office can do its own work properly while nobody takes care of the full journey.
When a Student Stops Replying
One common problem is the student who suddenly stops replying. Recruitment may hand the student to admissions, but the student could still be comparing other colleges. A simple document reminder may not be enough to bring that person back.
Keeping Students Interested while they wait
Another problem comes while the student is waiting for a decision. Colleges often know how long it takes to make a decision, but they may not have a clear plan for keeping the student interested before and after that decision. Things like course planning, classes or a talk with a teacher may come too late.
Too Many Messages after the Deposit
The period between paying a deposit and the first day can also become confusing. Different departments may send many emails. When students get messages from several offices, they can start ignoring them. Then an important message can easily get missed.
Student Withdraws
There can also be trouble when a student withdraws. Refund and withdrawal messages may sit between finance, the registrar and marketing. A bad experience can later become something future students see online.
Students who already left are another missed group. Some leave because of money, visa problems, family issues or study difficulties. A few may want to return, but many institutions don’t have anyone directly responsible for bringing them back.
Cost
Colleges need to know what each enrolled student actually costs. They may know which agent, campaign or fair found the student, but not the full cost of getting that person enrolled. Without that information, it becomes harder to decide what marketing and recruitment work is worth keeping.
What can Universities do now?
A simple starting point is to follow a small group of student applications from the first inquiry until registration. The biggest time gaps can show where students are getting lost. Universities can also ask every department which part of the student journey it owns. Any stage that nobody claims needs attention.
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Another useful test is to contact the institution like a real student and then stop replying. The college can see who follows up, how often they do it and which department contacts the student next.
Capilano University recently carried out a strategic enrolment management audit that looked at more than 150 best practices across 16 stages of the student journey. The work covered areas including international recruitment, marketing, conversion, student success and retention. The wider issue is now facing institutions across Canada as new student numbers remain much lower.
Capilano President Jason Dewling put the question this way: “In difficult times, we should be asking ourselves, ‘are we doing everything we know to do?’”
With fewer students entering the pipeline, universities can’t only focus on finding more people. They also need to make sure the students who are already interested don’t disappear somewhere between one department and the next.
