Northern Lights College continues to see a decrease in international enrollment since the federal government placed a cap on study permits last year.
Ottawa reduced the number of new international student permits to 360,000 in 2024. That 35% drop was put in place to help ease the national housing shortage in regions with high numbers of foreign students.
“We are seeing today fewer international students being able to come to Canada and being able to study at our college in particular,” said Todd Bondaroff, President of Northern Lights College.
Despite the recruitment barriers, Bondaroff said the school still attracts a fair share of international students. He adds that a third of the students currently enrolled are from other countries.
Kevin Hernandez moved from Chile to pursue an education at Northern Lights College. The NLC alumni said the sense of community in Dawson Creek is what made his experience special, despite some of the early struggles of moving to Canada.
“Sometimes, in different countries, the situation is not that nice. You came looking for opportunities and looking to belong and looking to improve yourself. So, the fact that you find that here is very nice, and that’s why it makes it easier to feel like this is home,” said Hernandez.
Matthew Okumu, a former student at NLC that moved from Kenya, said he wasn’t sure if moving to Dawson Creek was the right choice at first, but after some time, he said moving was the best decision of his life.
Both Hernandez and Okumu were classmates a few years back, and now, they both work at the school. Okumu said the Northern Lights College gives international students an avenue to succeed.
“We were able to sustain the amount of application that comes in for future intakes. Now, we’ve done our job. We did everything we can on that front. It now is left to the federal government to process the application,” said Tony Mei, Director of International Education.
In recent years, the number of international students has skyrocketed across Canada. The number of students with active study permits rose to 1,040,985 in 2023. That is a 29 per cent increase over the previous year, according to Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada
Last year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processed about 600,000 permit applications. This year, the IRCC set the processing cap at about 500,000 but have yet to release numbers on how many applications will be accepted.
Because of the cap, colleges and universities across Canada are seeing tuition drop, which results in budget cuts. Instructors and staff across the country are losing their jobs leaving students with less classes and higher tuition. When asked about the effect on the staff at NLC, Bondaroff did not mention any specific cuts.
However Bondaroff did say, “I think we all really understand the investment, the commitment that it takes to chose to come and study here in Canada. We want to make sure that when students do make that choice to invest in education here, that they’re getting what they are paying for.”
According to Edu Canada, tuition costs on average $36,100 per year for international undergraduate students, and $21,100 per year for international graduate students. That’s on average 3 to 5 times more than what a domestic student pays for. In addition, Edu Canada says the living cost for university students can add up to $15,000.
The NLC Dawson Creek Student Council said many foreign students experience homesickness, financial pressure, and the difficulties of adjusting to a new culture and way of life when first moving to Canada.
The NLC DC Student Council said in a statement, “We understand the challenges international students face, and we admire their strength in pursuing education in a new country. That’s why we believe continued support, resources, and community-building, many of which NLC offers, are essential to success.”
According to Universities Canada, international students are vital for Canada. They reported that in 2021, international students injected $30.9 Billion into Canada’s economy, and they contributed in $7.4 billion in tax revenues.
Bondaroff said Northern Lights College still has the lowest international tuition rate in BC and the third lowest in Canada. He said the federal cap is affecting the school’s bottom line, but NLC is not planning on raising tuition for domestic students.