There will be fewer international students studying in the Maritimes this fall.
Ottawa put a cap on the number of study permits for 2024. Now, there are concerns over potential challenges the decision could pose in the work force.
"All over Canada we know there is an aging population, which is creating some labour force gaps, some labour force challenges," said Ather Akbari, an economics professor at Saint Mary's University (SMU) in Halifax.
"In Atlantic Canada, it is more."
A conference Friday at SMU addressing the future of the skilled labour force highlighted the role international students play.
"International students serve two purposes. One is after finishing their education, they become a member of a skilled labour force, and while they're attending school they are also helping solve the issue of a gap in lower skilled labour force," said Akbari.
Earlier this year, the federal government announced a two-year cap on international student enrolment, with plans to reduce study permits by 35 per cent. The cap was originally meant to stop institutions from taking advantage of international students, but also to help alleviate housing pressures.
"We want to make sure that we do have infrastructure in place [so] when international students arrive in Nova Scotia we do have housing for them," said Nova Scotia Education Minister Brian Wong.
International student permits for 2024
The federal government is expected to approve approximately 360,000 international student permits across Canada this year. Of that, 12,900 have been allocated for Nova Scotia, according to the provincial government.
It said that is 7,000 fewer than the number of applications last year.
New Brunswick has been assigned 9,300 attestation letters, with a total international student cap of 5,580. Prince Edward Island's allocation is 2,000.
In Nova Scotia, it's not clear how the permits will be divided up among schools.
"We're looking at trends over the past. How many international students they have for every school. We're looking for trends on how many students have been graduating. We're looking at all kinds of different factors," said Wong.
The province says international students accounted for 25 per cent of the enrolment at Nova Scotia universities in 2022-23.
