RBC Economist Says Canada Study Permit Cap Won’t Immediately Drive Down Rents

Colin Singer
-
0
RBC Economist Says Canada Study Permit Cap Won’t Immediately Drive Down Rents

An RBC Economics report says Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s cap on study permit applications will not be enough to stop the inflationary effect on rents due to increasing numbers of international students in Canada – but it will slow down the pace of that inflation.

“Assuming similar enrollment rates and outflow patterns as those observed in the three post-pandemic years, we estimate 391,000 new international students will enter Canada this year and 291,000 will graduate or otherwise see their study permits expire,” wrote RBC economist Rachel Battaglia.

“This means the number of international students in Canada will continue to grow by 100,000, about 55 per cent less than the net increase in 2023.”

With that growth in international students in Canada, the pressure on rents from the international students’ demand for housing will moderate but not drop in the short-term.

“The impact on the rental housing market will run along the same lines,” wrote the economist.

Read More Canada Immigration News

Candidates Must Be Active In Start-Up Visa Business Or Have Canada Permanent Residence Application Denied
Manitoba Issues 282 Canada Immigration Invitations In New PNP Draw
Report Says Canada the Safest Place for Travellers in 2024

“But even though we’re expecting growth to moderate, this doesn’t translate to an outright fall in rental demand, at least not in the near-term. Given nearly all international students live in rented accommodation – we’re assuming 97 per cent – we estimate this slowdown could cut demand for new rentals by international students in half relative to 2023.”

As Canada struggled with the severe labour shortages in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) removed the 20-hour weekly restriction on work hours for international students, allowing them to work up to 40 hours every week.

That temporary measure was initially intended to be in place until the end of last year but Immigration Minister Marc Miller has extended that deadline to the end of April this year.

Now, the immigration minister wants to scale back international students’ hours in the workplace.

“We have gotten addicted to temporary foreign workers,” Miller has reportedly told Bloomberg News

“Any large industry trying to make ends meet will look at the ability to drive down wages. There is an incentive to drive labour costs down. It’s something that’ll require a larger discussion.”

The proposed move to cut back on the work hours of international students comes in the wake of the IRCC having processed more than one million study permit applications last year.

“We finalized 1,089,600 study permit applications (including extensions) in 2023, up from 917,900 in 2022,” notes the IRCC website.

Last month, the immigration minister limited study permits to be handed out to international students in the coming year by the IRCC to only 606,250 study permit applications in 2024.

Study Permit Applications Will Be Capped At 606,250 This Year

“The intent of these Instructions is to ensure the number of study permit applications accepted into processing by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration … within the scope of the instructions does not exceed 606,250 study permit applications for one year beginning on the date of signature,” the Canada Gazette reported on Feb. 3.

The cap on study permit applications is expected to reduce the number of study permits by more than a third, The Globe and Mail has reported.

“The cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023,” the immigration minister has reportedly said. “In the spirit of fairness, we are also allocating the cap space by province, based on population.”

Watch Video

Under the cap on study permits, it is expected the provinces and territories will each have a limit on their ability to welcome new international students. The national newspaper reports those proposed limits will allow some provinces to increase their international student population while dramatically cutting it in other provinces, including Ontario.

The cap on study permits and proposed reductions in the hours international students will be allowed to work off campus and other, suggested tweaks to TFWP to reduce the number of low-wage workers, though, have some business leaders worried.

At the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), president Dan Kelly has openly wondered whether the government is now operating in panic mode as it attempts to deflect from criticism that record immigration has fuelled inflation and caused much of the housing crisis.

He is hoping the government will properly think through the ramifications of changes to the TFWP, particularly for smaller and rural communities, as many businesses have come to rely on immigrants.

Canada Spousal Immigration Surged In 2023

Colin Singer
-
0
Canada Spousal Immigration Surged In 2023

The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals spouses and common-law partners became Canadian immigrants in far greater numbers last year than in 2022.

As December came to a close, Canada had welcomed 75,185 new permanent residents through the spousal sponsorship program, up 17.2 per cent from the 64,145 in 2022.

The immigration program’s strong performance exceeded the growth in Canada’s overall immigration, which rose 7.8 per cent, to 471,550 new permanent residents from 437,595 the previous year.

And the spousal sponsorship program did particularly well in the last quarter of the year with much-higher numbers of spouses and common-law partners – 27.4 per cent more – in the last three months of 2023 compared to the previous year.

Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, once again saw the greatest number of arrivals under the spousal sponsorship program with 39,820 spouses making it their home last year.

Read More Canada Immigration News

Manitoba Issues 282 Canada Immigration Invitations In New PNP Draw
Ontario PNP Draw: Province Targets Healthcare and Tech Jobs With 4,552 Invitations
Atlantic Immigration Program’s Drop In Numbers And Cap On PNPs Disappoints Provinces

The other provinces and territories attracted the following number of new permanent residents under the spousal sponsorship program during that period:

  • Newfoundland and Labrador – 205
  • Prince Edward Island – 135
  • Nova Scotia – 935
  • New Brunswick – 510
  • Quebec – 6,995
  • Manitoba – 2,100
  • Saskatchewan – 1,360
  • Alberta – 10,290
  • British Columbia – 12,670
  • Yukon – 90
  • Northwest Territories – 60
  • Nunavut – 15

Among the provinces, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta saw the greatest increases in spousal sponsorships with Ontario welcoming 29.3 per cent more spouses and common-law partners as new permanent residents last year, Manitoba seeing an increase of 25 per cent more, and Alberta a boost of 25.9 per cent.

In the francophone province of Quebec spousal sponsorships fell by the greatest relative amount across the country with La Belle Province seeing a decline of 23.7 per cent in spousal sponsorships.

Yukon, Northwest Territories Welcomed More Spouses Last Year

In Canada’s Far North, the Yukon saw growth of 28.6 per cent in spousal sponsorships last year and the Northwest Territories welcomed 20 per cent more spouses and common-law partners as new permanent residents.

Nunavut, though, saw a decline of 25 per cent in spousal sponsorships last year off a very small base in 2022.

Watch Video

When a Canadian citizen or permanent resident chooses to sponsor a spouse or common-law partner to immigrate to Canada, the sponsor must sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the sponsored person’s basic needs, including:

  • food, clothing, shelter and their needs for everyday living, and;
  • dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by public health services.

This agreement cannot be cancelled, even if:

  • the person sponsored becomes a Canadian citizen;
  • the couple divorces, separates or the relationship breaks down;
  • either the sponsor or the sponsored spouse or common-law partner moves to another province or country, or;
  • the sponsor experiences financial problems.

EI Payments Considered Income For Sponsor Of Spouse

Maternity, parental and sickness benefits paid under the Employment Insurance Act in Canada are all considered income and contribute to allowing a person to sponsor a spouse or common-law partner but other payments from the government, such as employment insurance and federal training allowances, are not considered income.

On its website, IRCC provides estimates of the current processing times for various types of applications, including spousal sponsorships.

According to that website, the current processing time for sponsorship applications for spouses or common-law partners currently outside the country and planning to live outside of Quebec is now down to 12 months, a considerable improvement over the 20-month processing time in 2022.

That estimated processing time includes:

  • the time needed to provide biometrics;
  • the assessment of the sponsor and the person being sponsored, and;
  • the time immigration officials need to ensure the sponsor and his or her spouse or common-law partner meet the eligibility requirements.

Intake For Alberta Opportunity Stream Temporarily Paused To Address Backlog

Colin Singer
-
0
Intake For Alberta Opportunity Stream Temporarily Paused To Address Backlog

The Alberta Advantage immigration Program (AAIP) has temporarily paused intake for Alberta Opportunity Stream applications.

The AAIP will continue to assess those Alberta Opportunity Stream applications that were submitted prior to the pause’s institution.

Those applications in the AAIP portal that were in the draft stage but not uploaded before the pause, including those pending final fee payment, will not be accepted.

According to the AAIP website, “this pause will enable the program to address its current inventory and focus its limited immigration nominations on priorities, such as filling labour shortages in healthcare, technology, construction, agriculture, tourism and hospitality and other in-demand sectors.”

“The AAIP will be implementing measures to manage future application volumes against program priorities and to maintain reasonable service standards across its streams.”

Read More Canada Immigration News

Candidates Must Be Active In Start-Up Visa Business Or Have Canada Permanent Residence Application Denied
Manitoba Issues 282 Canada Immigration Invitations In New PNP Draw
Report Says Canada the Safest Place for Travellers in 2024

The website will be updated when the pause is lifted, and the stream begins to retake applications.

The Alberta Tourism and Hospitality Stream

This update comes just two days after the announcement of a new stream under AAIP, called the Tourism and Hospitality Stream, which will commence on March 1, 2024, and will help Alberta’s tourism and hospitality sectors deal with labour gaps and challenges.

Applications will be finite and expedited.

The main reason for this new stream will be to enable Alberta businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry to attract and retain workers.

What is the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program?

AAIP is an economic immigration program that nominates people for an Alberta PR.

Applicants need to have the skills to fill job shortages or be planning to buy or start a business in Alberta.

They must also be able to provide for their families.

Watch Video

The program has three streams for foreign workers living and working in Alberta, or plan to live and work there:

The AAIP has four streams for entrepreneurs planning to live in Alberta and buy or start a business there:

The Employer-Driven Stream and Strategic Recruitment Stream expired in 2018.

1...404142...820Page 41 of 820