International student cap sees universities facing across the board cuts [Video]

Canadian colleges and universities are responding to a cash crunch brought on by Ottawa’s cut to international student permits with layoffs, hiring freezes and service reductions, say people in the post-secondary education sector.

A year ago, the federal government announced a 35 per cent reduction in study permits — bringing the number down to an estimated 360,000 for 2024 — one of the first major reductions in Canada’s permanent and temporary immigration targets.

International students pay much higher tuition fees than their domestic counterparts. Post-secondary institutions across the country are still struggling to fill that hole — and to decide which programs and services they can live without.

Council of Ontario Universities president Steve Orsini said that schools in his organization, which includes 20 of the province’s top universities, expect a combined loss of $330 million this fiscal year and $600 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

“It’s had a profound negative …