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2024 was a year of change across the Canadian international education sector. Study permit¹ approvals were on track to drop by 45% compared to 2023, based on our projections. A major factor in this change was a series of policy updates, including caps on some study permits, and shifting sentiment towards Canada as a destination.

As a result of these policy and sector shifts, the number of new Canadian study permits issued² in 2024 declined for the first time since 2020—and the latter was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.³ A central contributing factor to 2024’s drop was that fewer study permits were issued to college-bound students, although this cohort still received the largest proportion of study permits.

These major student shifts affected Canada’s top provincial and city study destinations, as well as the distribution of students across different levels of study significantly. Read on to learn more about the latest study permit issuance data across Canada’s largest metropolitan areas and what that might mean for 2025.

Study Permit Issuances Slowed Across Canada in 2024

By volume, Ontario remained the top provincial destination for new international students, followed by British Columbia (BC) and Quebec. However, over a year of rebalancing, 2024 saw the number of study permits issued to every province, and the territory of Yukon, decrease compared to 2023:

Use the series field above the line chart to select which province or territory you’d like to see.

Every province saw at least 8% fewer study permits issued in 2024 than in the previous year. This change was steered, in part, by policy. In late 2023 and early 2024, the Government of Canada placed a cap on some study permits.⁴ Prior to their final adjustments, these caps were , encouraging closer alignment between student enrolment rates and regional demographics.⁵ This resulted in some provinces like Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Saskatchewan receiving room to grow under their cap’s targets. However, this growth didn’t occur.

Out of these four provinces, Quebec welcomed the most students in 2024 with over 50,000 permits issued to new students at Quebec institutions. This represented a drop of 8% from 2023, the smallest year-over-year change among all 10 provinces.

By comparison, 17% fewer permits were issued to students going to Alberta, dropping from 30,500 in 2023 to just under 25,400 in 2024. Even so, issuances for Alberta-bound students remained higher than they were in 2022, signaling potential room for growth. Fellow prairie province Saskatchewan saw issuances drop by 35% year-over-year to just over 6,000 permits.

Meanwhile, on Canada’s east coast, study permit issuances to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2024 also dropped, with totals 22% lower than in 2023.

Study Permit Issuances Shift Among Provinces Most Limited by the Caps

As the caps were announced, four of the other six provinces’ study permit approval allocations were capped at 10% less than their 2023 levels.⁶ However, Ontario and BC, the provinces historically welcoming the highest number of international students, were subject to a greater rate of change.

With a study permit approval cap for 2024 set at 41% below its 2023 issuance total, institutions in Ontario weathered a challenging year. Ultimately, study permit issuances to Ontario-bound students dropped to 137,000 in 2024—roughly half of the 2023 total. It’s a shift with far-reaching consequences, as institutions announced restructuring efforts and put study programs on pause. This level of change wasn’t unique to Ontario: 48% fewer study permits were issued to students headed to Nova Scotia in 2024 versus 2023, returning the province to 2019 levels.

Meanwhile, BC-bound students were issued 65,000 study permits in 2024, a year-over-year reduction of nearly 33%. While BC remained the second-largest destination within Canada for new international students, total issuance levels were similar to 2021.

In 2024, Canadian study permit approval rates dropped from a national average of around 60% to about 50%.

Proportion of Study Permits Issued to College Students Shrink in 2024, K-12 Permits Rise

Many of these provincial impacts were influenced by student volumes shifts by study level. When we look at how issuances of new Canadian study permits by study level have shifted over the last eight years, some notable patterns emerge. First, while the proportion of permits issued to college-level students grew consistently since 2017, this trend reversed sharply in 2024. Second, while the proportion of new permits issued to primary or secondary school (K-12) students hovered between 13% and 19% in recent years, it climbed to over 20% in 2024:

To look closer at a specific study level, click on it in the chart’s legend to filter the results.

In the late 2010s, college students were issued between 33% and 39% of all new study permits. Through the early 2020s, inbound international college students received a progressively larger portion, which peaked in 2023 with nearly 48% of all new study permits issued (247,000). In 2024, however, college students received just over 125,400 permits, 39% of the new study permits issued. As Ontario hosts the majority of international college students—68% of new college-level study permits issued between 2017 and 2024 were for students at Ontario institutions—this downturn disproportionately affected Ontario.

Fewer study permits overall were issued to university-level students in 2024 as well. Generally, however, their share of the permits stayed fairly steady. The proportion of permits issued to undergraduate students held at 13% for a third year running. Meanwhile, postgraduate studies accounted for 13% of all new study permits issued, rising from 11% in 2023. A higher proportion of postgraduate study permits is good news for cities like Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, home to institutions which attract many new master’s and PhD students.

In 2024, the proportion of Canadian study permits issued to K-12 students was the highest it’s been in the last eight years. Last year, just over one in five study new permits issued went to a student headed to a Canadian primary or secondary school. While the overall number of issuances dropped—from 80,000 in 2023 to 67,800 in 2024—the proportion of issuances grew by five percentage points year-over-year. While Ontario and BC attract the most K-12 students, the number of study permits issued to students in Quebec institutions actually grew between 2023 and 2024, suggesting steady interest in French-language education.

Montreal Returns as Top Undergrad Student City in Canada in 2024

Quebec also saw steady interest as a destination for new international undergraduates. Last year, Montreal edged ahead of Toronto, issuing more new study permits at the university undergraduate degree level for the first time since 2020:

In 2024, the ten census metropolitan areas (CMAs)⁷ whose universities attracted the most new bachelor’s students spanned six different provinces, as it has since 2021. Ontario and BC topped the list with three destinations each.

Year-over-year, the number of permits issued to bachelor’s degree students headed to Montreal dropped by less than 100, while the difference was greater for students headed to other major Canadian cities. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of permits issued to Toronto-bound bachelor’s degree students dropped by over 2,300. Meanwhile, nearly 1,800 fewer permits were issued to students headed to Vancouver and around 1,500 less to new students in Winnipeg.

Vancouver Remains Number One for New Postgraduate Degree International Students in 2024

Although Montreal was the top spot for new international undergrads, postgrad students were more likely to aim for BC. Last year, the most new study permits for master’s and doctoral degree students were issued to students going to Vancouver:

Nearly 7,400 new postgraduate international students started programs in Vancouver in 2024. However, that total is down by 41% compared to 2023. Similar—though not always as steep—shifts occurred across the most popular⁸ CMAs for permit issuances at this level of study. Out of the top 20 CMAs, fewer new study permits were issued to students heading to 18 destinations. Two Ontario cities were the only exceptions: 40 more postgrad students were issued permits to London universities, and just under 600 more postgrad students were issued permits to study in Toronto universities in 2024 versus 2023.

Is this change in study permit volumes a demand challenge? While the answer is nuanced, in 2024, we reported on how lower student interest at the postgraduate level was reflected in fewer study permit applications received by IRCC over the first half of 2024 versus 2023.

Toronto Stays the Top City for New International College Students in 2024

At the college level, Toronto kept a comfortable lead as the destination of choice for new international students:

Along with Toronto, five of the most popular destinations for college-level international students were in Ontario last year (Kitchener, Brampton, Mississauga, and London). Alberta and BC tied for the next most popular provinces, with both Calgary and Edmonton represented in the top 10 CMAs for Alberta, and Vancouver and Surrey for BC.

Even with student populations shifting the most dramatically at the college level, Ontario remained a powerhouse for college education: 58% of college-level study permits were issued to students headed to Ontario colleges last year. That said, changes to overall volume were notable. In 2023, 60,400 new study permits were issued to students headed to college in Toronto. In 2024, that number dropped to 21,100, representing a drop of 65%.

Colleges across Canada were affected by the new student cap, although how much permit issuances changed varied fairly widely. For example, future college students in Vancouver were issued 13% fewer study permits in 2024 compared to 2023. Permits issued to Calgary-bound college students, meanwhile, dropped by 21%.

Key Takeaways

International students planning to study in Canada in 2025—and the institutions that host and support them—must navigate a changed landscape. Canada’s study permit caps will continue this year, with a lowered target of 437,000 study permits issued. However, about 12% of the 2025 caps’ capacity is now reserved for postgraduate degree studies. While this is relatively in line with these students’ recent proportion of study permit issuances, the caps now also .

These changes are compounded by further limitations affecting college students’ options, like new field of study and language proficiency criteria for post-graduation work permit eligibility. That said, the government did expand the PGWP-eligible program list in response to constituent concerns, adding in-demand programs in child care and education. They also recently amended PGWP limitations such that college degree graduates are no longer subject to field of study requirements. Despite these revisions, collective policy changes will likely create a more competitive environment for students applying to popular institutions, especially in provinces like Ontario and British Columbia.

For institutions, driving continued student success may necessitate continued advocacy for key programs, and working with other institutions and associations. On the student front, institutions should ensure their teams understand updated PGWP guidelines so they can effectively highlight programs which fit new criteria.

In a time of heightened uncertainty, working collaboratively across sectors to shape program design, share career pathways, offer mentorship, and build the next generation of skilled workers is vital. This united approach can help people across the sector illustrate the many reasons why Canada remains an accessible, welcoming, and top-tier study destination.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enrol in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies.

2. The term “issued,” when talking about study permits, refers to when an eligible student is given their study permit after arriving at a Canadian port of entry. Here and throughout this piece, we’re also referring to new study permits issued, not including study permit extensions.

3. All data is sourced from unless noted otherwise.

4. The study permit caps limited how many study permit applications would be accepted for review under the new guidelines, and how many would be approved. Both of these steps happen before study permit issuance (which occurs onshore in Canada), and are calculated differently than issuance.

5. It’s worth noting that this methodology does not inherently consider factors like institutional capacity or local labour market needs.

6. Under the revised study permit cap guidelines, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, all of which would have had study permit approvals reduced between 16% to 28%, were capped at a 10% decrease.

7. Statistics Canada, “.” Accessed Mar. 2025.

8. The IRCC data in this chart spans from 2017 through 2024. “Most popular” here refers to the 20 CMAs which attracted the highest number of new study permit holders at the postgraduate degree levels within that timeframe.