Ottawa needs to be ‘careful’ with placing caps on international students, businesses say

The federal government will have to be “careful” and “nuanced” with its potential plan to put a cap on the number of international students that enter Canada to ensure that it doesn’t hurt the country’s ability to attract “top talent,” business leaders and economists say.

Experts, though, said that a broad-based cap may not be a good idea.

“A cap to international students would be a pretty blunt tool to respond to some legitimate concerns,” said Rebekah Young, an economist at the Bank of Nova Scotia. “Broad-based caps risk penalizing the good with the bad. The government should look to work with — and reward — those academic institutions that welcome international students responsibly.”

Diana Palmerin-Velasco, a senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, echoed a similar sentiment, and said a potential cap on international students is something that needs to be considered “very carefully” since it might prevent students from fully contributing to Canada’s economy.