New international student caps hurt Quebec universities

Quebec’s universities warn that they have been left at a “serious disadvantage” by new state-level quotas on international students and restrictions on hiring professors.

The provincial government announced a cap on international student applications of 124,760 – 20 per cent down on than the year before.

Of these, a quarter are for vocational training programmes, a quarter for college-level programmes and roughly half are for universities – the same number as were allowed in 2024.

But Daniel Jutras, rector of the Université de Montréal, which suffered a 10 per cent fall in registration of international students last year, said the quota alone sent unwelcoming signals to candidates. 

“All universities are concerned about this. We think this effect will be felt for several years,” Jutras said.

“It will require significant efforts on our part to rebuild the reputation of Quebec as a jurisdiction that welcomes international students.”

The majority of international students are in in graduate programmes and are “major contributors” to research efforts, Jutras added.

Because of its francophone culture, Quebec tends to have a much higher proportion of doctoral students from outside of Canada than other provinces.

Olivier Bégin-Caouette, associate professor in comparative higher education at Montréal, warned that reducing students at this level impacted the province’s ability to conduct research, create jobs and survive the trade war with the US.

“It’s extremely problematic. Our capacity to publish in prestigious journals to receive prizes, to obtain major research funding – all of this could be jeopardised because of this decision, so right now the sector is afraid,” he said.

Deep Saini, vice-chancellor of McGill University, said provincial caps – as well as federal ones announced last month – harm Quebec universities, impede research and innovation, and put the province’s attractiveness as a first-rate destination at risk.

“Not only do our international students help us innovate and create in academic and research spheres, they bolster our collective social and economic strength, including increasing Quebec’s global economic impact,” he said.

“During this period of international turmoil, we would prefer those responsible for immigration policy help universities welcome top talent, rather than put new barriers in their way.”

Like many other universities across Canada, McGill is already facing an uncertain financial future. However, the main impact of Quebec’s 2025-26 caps will be on public colleges and private colleges.

While the caps were expected, the provincial government’s decision to take professors and researchers off the list of those eligible for an expeditated immigration process to Quebec was not.

Concordia University said it was surprised and alarmed by the decision, which would put Quebec at a “serious disadvantage in recruiting global talent”.

“At a time when world events have created conditions that could allow Quebec to be hyper-competitive as a destination for top international candidates, it is baffling that we are not seizing these opportunities,” added a spokesperson.

In such a competitive environment for high-quality candidates, and in the middle of a recruitment period, Jutras said all universities had expressed “dismay” at the shock news.

“We think the lengthier process and the larger demands on justification for hiring will certainly have an impact,” he said.

“It will slow down the process by several weeks, and that just means that people are likely to accept offers that they will receive faster from other jurisdictions in Canada or abroad.”

Like the Liberal government at federal level, the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec is behind in the polls amid pressures on housing and health services often linked to immigration.

Jutras said putting pressure on international students was a way for the scandal-hit party to show that it was “responding to the crisis”, which is very real.

“There is a real housing problem in Quebec, and there is a real pressure on social services generally speaking,” he said.

“Our healthcare system is under tremendous pressure, and I think the government is pointing to the levers that it can handle that are within its control.”

The Quebec government has also come under criticism for not discussing its plan with the sector in advance, and for political interference over pro-Palestinian speech.

Emma Harden-Wolfson, assistant professor in the faculty of education at McGill, pointed to a growing trend of governments across English-speaking nations using higher education for political purposes.

“Once, it was usual for Canadian ministers to speak of international students as ‘ideal immigrants’ for the country. Now, international students are being scapegoated for issues that are not of their making – which in turn emboldens the public to do the same,” she said.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com