COLLEGES AND INSTITUTES CANADA
A message to Canadians from Canada's public colleges and institutes

I am writing this letter because the federal government's September 18 announcement of changes to international student post-graduate work permits will damage Canadian communities, businesses, and local economies. The government's changes specifically target public colleges and institutes who are key providers of trained personnel essential to the economy in hundreds of communities across Canada.

These changes will exacerbate labour shortages in many regions and threaten accessibility of programs for Canadian students. 

Two weeks ago, the federal Minister responsible for immigration and citizenship announced a new series of reforms to reduce the number of temporary residents to Canada. This includes further reductions to overall international student numbers and changes to post-graduate work eligibility only for those studying at public colleges. 

Let's be clear: we support a well-managed immigration system. An international student program that operates efficiently, with integrity and in a way that responds to the changing needs of our country, is essential. 

That said, the misguided and top-down approach to these new reforms risks damaging Canadian communities.  

The federal government wants to ensure that more post-graduate work permits are offered to graduates of programs that align with labour market need. These permits are tools that allow international students to stay and work in Canada for a defined period of time after they graduate from an accredited postsecondary institution. We support this move, given that public colleges have robust structures in place to ensure that their programs have strong labour market alignment.  

However, the reforms single out public colleges to prove their programs align with national labour market needs - determined by Ottawa - in order to be considered an eligible field of study for a post-graduate work permit. New eligibility restrictions also make a false distinction between the quality and relevance of college and university bachelor's degrees approved by their provinces.  

This top-down approach ignores the needs of your community. 

The core mission of Canada's colleges and institutes is to respond to community needs in real time. Local business leaders sit on our boards and program advisory committees, our campuses are designed to support community objectives, and our system leaders work to improve the economic outcomes and well-being of those who live in the towns and cities they serve.  

Ottawa's decision to align programs with national needs creates a fundamental disconnect between the pressing needs of local labour markets and the essential contributions of skilled international graduates from the over 10,000 diploma and bachelor's degree programs in high demand fields across our network. We believe this disconnect needs to be addressed with urgency. 

There is time to correct the policy. 

We are urging the federal government to work collaboratively with institutions, provinces and territories to develop an approach to these reforms that meets the needs of your communities. Until then, they need to be put on hold. 

All Canadians rely on public college and institute graduates. 

Canada's public colleges and institutes train the builders, growers, makers, caregivers, first responders, innovators and job creators that Canadians depend on.   

By forcing colleges and institutes to align with Ottawa's assessment of the needs of their communities, they will be challenged to develop new, in-demand programs that support local recruitment and may be forced to cut essential programs that are no longer financially sustainable - both for international and domestic students.  

In a context of declining government investment in our public college and institute system, fewer international students means fewer high-demand programs for Canadian students.

Ottawa's plan represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the value public colleges and institutes deliver for Canadians, at a time when your communities are facing shortages of skilled workers in critical sectors, and in a postsecondary system where colleges and institutes are already undervalued and underfunded.  

We encourage you to communicate with your local college to find out what these proposed changes mean for your community. And then reach out to your local members of Parliament to voice your thoughts about this policy and the local impacts it will have. 

Sincerely, 

Pari Johnston 
President & CEO
Colleges and Institutes Canada