The number of international students in Canada now goes beyond one million, official figures say, just as the country mulls capping their arrival amid growing cost of living crisis. At the end of December last year, there were 1,028,850 study permit holders, with just over half of them in Ontario, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said. The numbers have increased rapidly from 6,37,855 in 2019 to 8,07,260 in 2022, and include school, college and university students and those pursuing “other studies”.

More than 60,000 international students became permanent residents of Canada in 2023—representing an increase of 9,670 from the 52,740 international graduates who became international students in 2022, IRCC data said. India remains the top source country for international students in Canada, followed by China. In a move likely to impact Indians, Miller announced that from this year, the students will have to show at least in their CA$20,635 account on top of their one-year tuition fees (the current figure is $10,000).