The government of Canada plans to reduce visas for foreign students due to rising housing costs. Canada’s new housing minister, Sean Fraser, made the announcement at a press conference on Canada’s Atlantic coast province of Prince Edward Island on Monday.
Canada is the top choice country for students and immigration aspirants from developing and less developed countries of the world including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. According to official data, the number of active visa holders in Canada in 2022 was more than 8 lakh. 10 years ago, in 2012, this number was 2 lakh 75 thousand.
That is, the number of foreign students staying in the country has increased almost four times in ten years. The Minister said in the press conference that due to these additional students, there is a lot of pressure on the housing market in Canada and the prices of houses and real estate are increasing day by day.
Journalists at the press conference asked whether the government plans to reduce the influx of foreign students through visa restrictions. In reply, the minister said, ‘I think such a plan should be taken and now is the right time. To control this explosive growth in the number of foreign students, we must take some kind of planning, which has never been done before.’
Canada is currently governed by the Liberal Party government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Parliament elections are going to be held in the country next October. The opposition Conservative Party has been complaining that the Trudeau government is not taking effective measures to control the influx of migrants.
The second largest country in the world, Canada has an area of 99,84,670 square kilometers and a population of only 3.95 million.
