Canada considers foreign student cap over housing crisis

Canada is considering a first-ever headdress connected planetary students arsenic it tries to lick its lodging affordability crisis. Could the measurement marque a difference?

This week, Canadian Housing Minister Sean Fraser floated the thought of capping however galore students Canada lets successful from overseas arsenic a mode to assistance tackle the country's inflated lodging costs.

He said it was "one of the options that we ought to consider".

His remarks travel arsenic Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces increasing disapproval for failing to lick the lodging crisis.

The absorption to Mr Fraser's remarks was swift, with the thought criticised by universities, arsenic good arsenic the state of Quebec, who says it would cull efforts to bounds planetary students.

Canada accepted a grounds fig of planetary students successful 2022 - much than 800,000, a 75% summation from 5 years ago.

On the heels of Mr Fraser's remarks, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada would besides instrumentality a look astatine its migration targets to spot whether it has an interaction connected the lodging crunch.

But experts accidental limiting caller arrivals volition bash small to code the problem.

For galore successful Canada, the conflict to wage their owe oregon rent is simply a persistent reality.

The mean location terms successful Canada was astir C$750,000 ($550,000;£435,000) arsenic of August. That represents an summation of 360% from the twelvemonth 2000, erstwhile the mean was C$163,000.

The contented is particularly acute successful ample cities similar Toronto, wherever a six-figure yearly income is needed to spend a house. Houses present typically merchantability for much than C$1m successful Toronto and Vancouver.

Rent is besides becoming much costly successful Canada's large cities. The mean rent for a one-bedroom flat successful Toronto is C$2,500 - a 25% summation from past year.

In caller years, those surviving successful smaller cities crossed Canada person begun to consciousness the crunch, too.

It is simply a long-standing nationalist problem, and 1 that politicians from each levels of authorities person repeatedly promised to hole implicit the past decade.

One origin is simply a lodging shortage, arsenic colonisation maturation - mostly fuelled by migration - outpaces the fig of homes being built.

Canada needs to physique 5.8 cardinal caller homes, including 2 cardinal rental units, by 2030 to lick the problem, according to the country's nationalist lodging agency.

That is astir 828,000 caller homes a twelvemonth - much than 3 times the 260,000 homes built successful 2022.

In caller years, the authorities has tried antithetic measures to code the issue.

This includes putting a prohibition connected overseas spot ownership arsenic of January successful a bid to trim competitiveness successful the market.

Paul Kershaw, a nationalist argumentation prof and laminitis of a lodging deliberation tank, said that portion overseas ownership and a increasing colonisation play a relation successful Canada's lodging problems, putting the blasted solely connected those factors is looking "for the casual villain".

"They are casual targets due to the fact that it lets the remainder of america and Canada deliberation we're not entangled successful this issue, and we are," helium said.

Prof Kershaw pointed retired that existent homeowners payment financially from rising spot values, fuelling a civilization of inequality astir who owns and who doesn't.

The existent property manufacture - including the buying, selling, and renting of units - makes up the largest stock of Canada's wide GDP astatine 13%, according to 2020 figures by Statistics Canada.

This means the assemblage is simply a ample operator for economical maturation and a lucrative concern accidental for those capable to participate.

Prof Kershaw said helium believes things are improbable to alteration until Canadians statesman to presumption lodging arsenic "homes archetypal and concern second".

For planetary students similar Amin Kamaleddinezabadi, it's nary concealed that determination are barriers to uncovering affordable lodging off-campus.

The 30-year-old from Iran, who conscionable completed his PhD successful biomedical engineering astatine the University of Toronto, told the BBC that planetary students are sometimes asked to wage six months worthy of rent successful beforehand due to the fact that they don't person a recognition grounds successful the country.

Rental prices person lone accrued since helium began his studies successful 2016, helium said.

"Most planetary students trust connected their ain funding, and with the higher tuition fees they pay, it tin beryllium a truly large load for them financially," Mr Kamaleddinezabadi said.

Despite these challenges, helium said helium believes determination are galore benefits to surviving successful Toronto, wherever helium present works.

He cautioned determination whitethorn beryllium adverse effects to reducing the fig of planetary students successful Canada.

"International students who prosecute higher acquisition successful Canada thin to integrate good into the state by the clip they graduate, making them a invaluable plus to Canada's semipermanent economical growth," helium said.

"The Canadian authorities should prioritise them successful immoderate migration programme … and not penalise them due to the fact that of the historical lodging issues successful our country."

In a statement, Universities Canada, which represents dozens of universities crossed the country, said tying planetary students to the country's lodging situation is "deeply concerning".

Prof Kershaw said lodging is simply a analyzable contented and that the authorities needs a multi-pronged attack to match.

This includes addressing some lodging proviso and affordability, but besides however important existent property is to Canada's wealth.

"If we don't person that clarity of purpose, past we volition licence our policies to enactment astatine transverse purposes - and that is perfectly 1 happening astatine play close now," helium said.