International enrolment in Atlantic Canada has fallen by nearly 3,000 students this academic year, a drop one university group says is the “devastating effect” of the federal government’s policies to reduce the presence of temporary immigrants.
Universities in the region received a total of 2,983 fewer foreign students, or 11.4 per cent, compared with the 2023-24 academic year, says a report released Tuesday by the Association of Atlantic Universities.
Nova Scotia reported the biggest drop, with 2,091 fewer foreign students. International enrolment fell by 747 at Memorial University of Newfoundland — the province’s only university — and by 143 students at the University of Prince Edward Island, the sole university on the Island. Across New Brunswick, foreign enrolment fell by two students.
The decline is being blamed on the federal government’s cap on international student enrolment, announced in January, which marked a 35 per cent decrease from last year’s numbers. …