Questions and responses 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to the various changes made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to the international student program: (a) how does the government plan to measure the effectiveness of these changes in reducing fraud and improving student experiences; (b) how does the government plan to monitor the implementation of the letter of acceptance verification process to prevent fraud; (c) what type of oversight or quality checks on Designated Learning Institutions participating in the “recognized institution” framework currently exists or will exist in the near future; (d) what specific measures are in place to prevent Designated Learning Institutions from over-enrolling beyond their support capacity; (e) what criteria will be used to assess the adequacy of housing and support services provided by Designated Learning Institutions; (f) does the government have plans to make new funding available to the provinces for affordable student housing in response to the intake cap; (g) how will the intake cap for study permits ensure fairness across provinces with varying demand for international students; and (h) how was the new cost-of-living requirement calculated, and does it account for regional differences in living expenses across Canada?

With regard to scholarships funded by the Government of Canada for international students studying in Canada, including those administered by Global Affairs Canada: (a) what is the total annual spending on such scholarships over each of the past five fiscal years, broken down by program; (b) what specific scholarship programs are currently offered, and what are the details of each, including, the (i) eligibility criteria, (ii) number of recipients, (iii) average value per recipient; (c) currently, and for each of the last five years, what proportion of total funding was allocated to (i) undergraduate, (ii) master’s, (iii) doctoral, (iv) short-term or exchange, programs; (d) what are the stated policy objectives of each such scholarship program, including economic, diplomatic, or development goals, and what metrics are used to evaluate their effectiveness; (e) what is the breakdown of scholarship funding amounts, in each of the last five years, by the student’s country of origin; (f) what safeguards and selection criteria are in place to ensure transparency, merit-based selection, and alignment with Canada’s national interests; and (g) what assessment has the government made of the costs and benefits of funding international student scholarships relative to domestic student support programs?

With regard to the approximately 130 applications from Palestinian students in Gaza, Egypt or displaced in other countries that have received admission offers from Canadian universities and scholarships, research stipends, or awards from other institutions and agencies such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec, received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: (a) what is the date range of the applications received from individuals displaced in other third countries; (b) how many of the applications in (a) have (i) been approved, (ii) been rejected, (iii) been withdrawn, (iv) terminated because the applicant was killed, (v) completed biometrics, (vi) are awaiting biometrics, (vii) been offered alternate biometric collection methods, (viii) completed all background checks and interviews, and await a decision, (ix) previously been approved for a study permit in Canada, (x) been approved and await official exit clearance; (c) of the applicants approved, how many names have been submitted to the governments of Israel or Egypt to request official exit clearance; and (d) what is the expected length of time it will take to process the remaining applications?

With regard to the approval rate for French-speaking international students: how many study permit applications, other than extension applications, has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada processed since January 1, 2023, broken down by (i) country of residence, (ii) number of people, (iii) year?

With regard to study permit holders in Canada and hours of work, since January 2016: (a) did the government conduct any analysis or study to estimate the average and total number of hours that study permit holders were anticipated to work by year; (b) did the government conduct any analysis or study to estimate the impacts on youth unemployment and hours worked by year; and (c) what is the total and average number of hours worked by those holding a study permit by (i) year, (ii) month?

With regard to study permit holders in Canada and housing since January 2016: (a) what analysis or studies did the government conduct on the (i) number of additional housing units required to house the number of study permit holders in Canada, (ii) potential for increased student housing costs due to the number of study permit holders in Canada, (iii) impacts on housing costs across the housing continuum due to the number of study permit holders in Canada, and what were the findings and dates of each; (b) what is the government's estimate on the average cost increase to rental housing due to the number of study permit holders in Canada, broken down by province or territory, currently, and broken down by each year since 2016; (c) what is the estimated average cost increase to purchase housing due to the number of study permit holders in Canada, broken down by province or territory, currently, and broken down by each year since 2016; and (d) what is the total estimated number of additional housing units required to accommodate study permit holders, broken down province or territory, currently, and broken down by each year since 2016?

With regard to study permit holders and the healthcare system in Canada, since January 2016: (a) what analysis or studies has the government conducted to examine the costs of those in Canada holding a study permit to our healthcare system, broken down by year the study was done; (b) what were the findings of each analysis or study in (a); (c) what is the government's estimate of the total cost incurred on Canada's healthcare system for providing healthcare to persons holding a study permit, broken down by (i) year, (ii) total cost incurred; (d) what is the government's estimate of the total number of visits to Canadian emergency room hospitals by persons holding a study permit in total and broken down by year; and (e) what is the government's estimate of the impact on wait times to see a doctor or specialist at Canadian emergency room hospitals and healthcare clinics due to the number of persons holding a study permit, broken down by (i) year, (ii) average increase in wait?

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: how many provincial attestation letters or territorial attestation letters has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada permitted designated educational institutions to allocate for international students, for each province and territory since 2024, broken down by Classification of Instructional Programs tied to the allocation, including (i) Classification of Instructional Programs code, (ii) Classification of Instructional Programs series, (iii) Classification of Instructional Programs subseries?

With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the 2024-25 fiscal year: (a) how much was spent administering the student visa program, in total and broken down by type of expense; (b) how many employees were assigned to the program (i) in total, (ii) for processing applications, (iii) for ensuring the compliance of those already granted a visa; (c) how many student visas were active; and (d) how many student visas were revoked, broken down by reason of revocation?

With regard to the number of study permit holders in Canada since January 2016: (a) did the government conduct any analysis or study to examine the additional costs to Canadian municipalities in relation to, including but not limited to, hard infrastructure needs, police services, transit services, due to the number of study permits, broken down by year; and (b) what is the federal government's estimate of the total cost incurred by Canadian municipalities in relation to persons holding a study permit, broken down by (i) year, (ii) total cost incurred?

With regard to the post-graduation work permit program and the update to the list of eligible programs at Quebec colleges: (a) how many programs at Quebec CEGEPs are not eligible for the post-graduation work permit program; (b) when was the list of eligible programs last reviewed; and (c) when does Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada intend to review the list of eligible programs?