Government Allowing 807,000 Foreign Students to Work Unlimited Hours Without Researching Impact on Canadian Jobseekers

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 19, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

The Liberal government’s “temporary” decision to let foreign students work more than 20 hours a week was made without researching its potential impact on Canadian job seekers, effectively allowing 807,000 foreign students to work unlimited hours.

The government’s decision to lift the previous 20-hour weekly work limit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has raised concerns about its effect on local employment, particularly among Canadian youth and postsecondary students, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller, defending the policy, stated that foreign students were not displacing other workers, citing widespread labour shortages in Canada. However, when pressed for data supporting the claim, both the labour and immigration departments reported having no relevant research or data.

“I don’t think students are taking jobs away from other people given the labour shortages that are happening in Canada,” Mr. Miller said to reporters Dec. 7.

Mr. Miller approximated that about 646,000 foreign students in Canada, representing 80 percent of the total 807,000, were engaged in work exceeding 20 hours per week.

The “Temporary Public Policy” lifting the 20-hour work cap was initially put in place on Nov. 15, 2022, under then-Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and was to expire on Dec. 31, 2023. On Dec. 3, Mr. Miller extended it until April 30, 2024.

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Mr. Miller emphasized the financial challenges faced by students in Canada.

“My focus primarily is to make sure that the public policy that we have in place is one that reflects the ability of the student to actually do what they’re supposed to be doing, which is study, without bankrupting themselves,” said Mr. Miller.

Historically, the number of foreign students participating in the Canadian workforce was much lower. In 2000, only about 22,000 foreign students were working, but by 2019, the number had increased to 354,000, as reported by Statistics Canada. By 2022, an estimated 500,000 foreign students were working under the 20-hour cap. There has been a 29 percent increase in the number of foreign student workers since the cap was lifted.

Coinciding with the cabinet’s decision to allow foreign students to work unlimited hours, the unemployment rate among Canadians under 24 increased from 9.2 percent to 10.2 percent over a year, as shown in the monthly Statistics Canada Labour Force surveys. The increase, which remains unexplained, has drawn attention to the potential unintended consequences of the policy change.

In early December, Mr. Miller announced a substantial increase in the required proof of funds for international students applying for visas, raising the amount from $10,000 to $20,635, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The change reflects an updated cost of living, with future adjustments tied to Statistics Canada’s low-income cutoff, he said.