Ontario’s Conestoga and Seneca Colleges had among the highest number of foreign students of any campuses nationwide last year (64,095). Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier criticized the two colleges by name for “unacceptable” recruitment practices.
“Ontario over the last three years in their education system has had over 10,000 asylum claims,” Miller told reporters February 27. “That isn’t the sign of a healthy system.”
An inquiry of ministry revealed 36,075 foreign students claimed asylum in Canada since 2018, reported Blacklock’s Reporter. Of those a total 32,855 were referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
“I don’t reproach people for wanting to exercise their rights in claiming asylum but it can’t be the result of a poor education system,” Miller said.
Rebel News first broke the story, highlighting prolonged concerns with the International Student Program, including job losses incurred by Canadians.
On a province-by-province basis, 526,015 foreign students were in Ontario, while British Columbia had 202,565, and Québec had 117,925 last year.
The number of foreign students in Canada has spiralled out of control in recent years, from 637,855 in 2019 to 982,880 in 2023.
According to the July 2023 Labour Force survey, the unemployment rate for Canadians under 24 grew a full point from 9.2% to 10.2% year over year. It cites the work cap suspension for the hike.
A similar survey in March pegged youth unemployment at 12.6%, continuing a trend which has seen virtually no net employment growth among youth since December 2022.
The Departments of Immigration and Labour could not speak to the impacts of repealing their work cap on youth unemployment.
Miller refuted claims that foreign students cost jobs for Canadian workers.
The Trudeau Liberals are running for the hills after Immigration Canada permitted hundreds of thousands of foreign students to work unlimited hours at the expense of Canadians.
READ MORE: https://t.co/EMY4ImE11C pic.twitter.com/r9GN0GlCqE
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) January 9, 2024
Cabinet, on January 22, cut study permits by at least 35% as a result, reaching as high as 50% in Ontario.
Approximately a million foreign students studied in Canada last year. In September, the Department of Immigration said over a third attended accredited institutions.
Last November, Statistics Canada said one in five (19%) study permit holders had no record of studying at a Canadian college or university.
As earlier reported by Rebel News, asylum claims by international students skyrocketed 1,500% over the past five years, from 1,515 claims in 2018 to 25,465 in 2023, according to figures obtained by The Globe and Mail.
The figures show that Ontario colleges in particular have more asylum-seeking claims. Decisions in the majority of cases are still pending, said the inquiry.
Pierre Poilievre slams former Liberal immigration minister Sean Fraser for his “total incompetence” in managing the international students program and attacking “the very programs he ran up until two weeks ago”. pic.twitter.com/nOPNr6ySO1
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) August 23, 2023
The figures were tabled at the request of Conservative MP Luc Berthold who asked, “With regard to asylum claims made by individuals who arrived in Canada on a student visa since 2018, how many claims were accepted?”
Figures showed the top five campuses for refugee claimants were Toronto’s Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology (1,590), Niagara College Canada (1,180), Conestoga College of Kitchener, Ont. (905), Cape Breton University (860) and Centennial College of Toronto (845).
Seneca College hosted 45 asylum claimants in 2018 to 1,135 five years later. At Niagara College, it rose from 20 to 930 over the same period.
Meanwhile Conestoga College saw 25 asylum claimants among 6,000 study-permit holders in 2018. Five years later, there were 665 asylum claims among the 81,335 permit holders.
