Fewer International Students Means Fewer Course Sections for Everyone Else
By Muntasir • Published Jun 25, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Canadian Universities & Colleges, Canada Higher Ed News & Policy
Canada's international student numbers dropped 26 percent in the 2025-26 school year alone, and colleges and universities are cutting electives, growing class sizes and freezing hiring to cover the lost tuition revenue domestic students relied on too.
📉 International enrolment fell 4 percent in 2024-25 and 26 percent in 2025-26, per Statistics Canada.
College enrolment dropped 40 percent in 2025-26 alone, a 42 percent fall since 2023-24.
University of Waterloo faces a 75 million dollar deficit after enrolling 30 percent fewer international students than last year, hitting only about half its enrolment target.
Kwantlen Polytechnic saw new international enrolment fall 53 percent and is offering staff early retirement.
Ontario and BC school leaders warn cuts are coming to counselling, housing support and electives, not only international-only seats.
What the numbers show
Canadian colleges and universities lost international students fast. Statistics Canada recorded a 4 percent drop in full-time international enrolment for 2024-25, followed by a 26 percent drop in 2025-26, pulling total numbers back to where they sat during the pandemic in 2021-22. Global News, citing Statistics Canada
Colleges absorbed the harder hit. Their international enrolment fell 3 percent in 2024-25, then dropped 40 percent in 2025-26, a 42 percent fall since 2023-24. Universities lost 17 percent of international students over the same three years, landing back near 2019-20 pre-pandemic levels. Ontario alone saw a 36 percent decline in 2025-26 after a 6 percent decline the year before, and its share of Canada's international students fell from 60 percent to 54 percent.
Why this touches your course selection, not only international seats
International tuition runs several times higher than domestic tuition at most Canadian schools, and that gap has funded electives, small seminars and extra course sections for years. When the revenue disappears, cuts do not stop at international-designated spots. Steve Orsini, president of the Council of Ontario Universities, warned that "significant cuts to student programs and services" are coming across Ontario, including coaching, career counselling, mental health support, housing and extracurricular activities. Nikki Macdonald, president of the BC Association of Institutes and Universities, said BC schools face "pretty significant program cuts" starting in the 2026-27 year. University Affairs
What individual schools are already doing
Kwantlen Polytechnic University in BC saw new international enrolment fall 53 percent, from 1,060 students to 502, and responded with early retirement incentives for faculty. The University of Waterloo faces a 75 million dollar deficit after enrolling 30 percent fewer international students than last year, hitting only about half its enrolment target, and has frozen hiring to close the gap. The strain reaches past Ontario and BC too. CBC News reported budget alarm at Manitoba universities over the same enrolment drop, and Atlantic Canada's smaller universities, which lean heavily on international tuition to keep small campuses running, report similar pressure on programming. CBC News, Manitoba
What this means for your registration
Expect fewer elective options, longer waitlists for popular courses and bigger lecture sections at schools that leaned hard on international tuition, especially colleges and mid-size universities in Ontario and BC. Check your program's course calendar for the next academic year early, register the moment your window opens, and talk to your academic advisor about backup courses if your program has already flagged capacity cuts. If you are choosing between schools, ask directly at an open house or advising session how much of the institution's operating budget came from international tuition, since that now signals how stable your course offerings stay.