Veteran economist Mark Carney was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada on March 14, becoming the 24th Prime Minister of the maple leaf country and is expected to have a significant impact on the picture of studying and settling in Canada in the near future.
Parents and students listen to Canadian university representatives advise on careers and opportunities at a study abroad event held in 2024.
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who served as governor of the Bank of Canada and then governor of the Bank of England, went on to serve as the UN special envoy for climate and finance and vice-chairman of Brookfield Asset Management in Canada, has emphasized the role of immigrants in promoting economic growth. On the other hand, he has also criticized his predecessor's immigration policies.
New Prime Minister takes a tougher stance?
CIC News cited policy documents released in February that Carney intended to “cap immigration” until it could return to pre-pandemic levels. “We are taking in more foreign workers, international students and new immigrants than we can handle — more housing, more health care, more welfare and more job opportunities,” he said in 2024.
The statement indicates that he will support the Canadian federal government’s plan to reduce immigration levels over the next three years. The Canadian government recently announced a change in its immigration strategy, cutting the number of newcomers by 21%, from about 500,000 in 2024 to 395,000 in 2025, and then to just 380,000 in 2026.
International students are one of the groups most affected by the above strategy, as Canada has continuously issued many tightening moves over the past year, such as increasing requirements for applying for a study permit, from finance to procedures; increasing foreign language requirements and conditions for applying for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP); eliminating the fast-track review process for study permits...
According to The PIE News , Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to continue to maintain many restrictive policies towards international students. One of the signs of this is that not long ago, he blamed Canadian provinces for not providing enough budget for university education, forcing schools to rely on international students, especially suffering a budget deficit of millions of dollars when this group decreased sharply.
That is also the reason why Mr. Carney announced that he would increase budget allocation to university education, helping schools rely less on international students.
A university campus in Canada
“Given Carney’s stance and recent policy changes, it is likely that Canada will continue to tighten controls on international student admissions under the new prime minister,” Ottawa-based immigration lawyer Daljit Nirman told The PIE News . “This controlled approach ensures that Canada’s infrastructure can effectively support those who choose to study and settle here.”
Sharing the same view, Priyanka Roy, a senior admissions consultant at York University in Canada, said that although Mr. Carney's stance on immigration "seems tougher", it will ultimately bring many benefits, "ensuring that the number of international students enrolled is appropriate to Canada's economic capacity, while not putting undue pressure on local infrastructure".
Appointing new immigration leader
Another notable highlight is that the administration of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed a new leader at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) - the agency responsible for reviewing and issuing visas and permits to study and work in Canada. Accordingly, Ms. Rachel Bendayan, former Minister of Official Languages of Canada, will replace Mr. Marc Miller as the new Minister of IRCC.
This is a welcome sign, according to immigration lawyer Matthew McDonald. He believes that the previous IRCC minister made the Canadian market less friendly to international students and their families, and hopes that the new minister will bring a more positive attitude. In addition, with legal experience, Ms. Bendayan will likely apply a technocratic approach to policy making, according to McDonald.
Bendayan was born into a Moroccan Jewish family and grew up in Quebec, Canada. She holds a BA in international development studies and a dual BA/Juris Doctor from McGill University in Canada. Before entering politics, she spent nearly a decade building a successful legal career at Norton Rose Fulbright and taught at the Faculty of Law at the Université de Montréal in Canada.
A few days ago, Canada allowed international students who graduated with a bachelor's degree from a college or polytechnic to still apply for a PGWP, instead of being limited by the field of study as before. This is good news for many educational institutions and international students, because not long before that, Canada also added dozens of training codes and a new field to the list of industries with long-term labor shortages, giving international students more opportunities to stay and work.
According to a report from IRCC, Canada attracted more than 1 million international students to study in 2023. IRCC statistics also show that the total number of Vietnamese studying in Canada has been on a continuous downward trend, from 21,480 in 2019 to 16,140 in 2022. However, in 2023, Vietnamese students in Canada increased slightly, to 17,175 people and ranked 8th in terms of quantity.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canada-co-thu-tuong-moi-du-hoc-va-dinh-cu-nuoc-nay-co-kho-hon-185250315143638194.htm
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