September 19, 2024, TORONTO – The federal government’s recent announcement on additional international student caps further stresses the financial crisis faced by the university sector.
“The cap will certainly negatively impact universities, but the question we need to ask is, why are universities so reliant on international students in the first place?” says Jenny Ahn, OCUFA Executive Director. “We find ourselves in this desperate situation because over the last two decades, governments of all stripes chronically underfunded universities.”
Universities have no choice but to use international students to make up for the funding shortfalls to keep operating. In 2024-25, the average undergraduate tuition in Ontario for an international student is $48,267. Contrast this with domestic student tuition of $8,514.
International students in Ontario pay the highest – and domestic students pay the fourth highest – tuition in Canada because Ontario’s funding is dead last in the country. Ontario provided only $9,890 per domestic student in total university funding in 2021-22; the Canadian average was $15,806 that year (i.e. Ontario funds 40% lower than the national average).
As a result, tuition revenues comprise much more of Ontario university revenues than is typical in Canada. In Ontario, 41% of university revenues came from tuition in 2022-23; the Canadian average that year was 31.2%.
“International students come to share in the learning and research at our world-class universities, and they add so much to the cultural life of a university community” says Nigmendra Narain, OCUFA President. “Yet, we use them like ATMs. International students are being used by our universities to literally keep the lights on and help mitigate decades of funding neglect from provincial governments.”
Universities have limited options. They cannot increase the number of domestic students without policy changes by the government, including funding for more faculty to teach more students. They cannot increase reliance on private donors and corporations without risking undue influence on the university’s curriculum and governance.
The latest move by the federal government only exacerbates the main underlying issue: universities are in a financial crisis. It also sends the wrong message to students around the world that they are not welcome.
The system is undoubtedly broken, and these student caps only cause more problems. The only way out is for the province to properly fund universities and for the federal government to implement immigration policies that attract the world’s best talent, including international students to study in Ontario’s world-class universities.