Ottawa, November 25, 2025 —
The international student cap limits the number of study permit applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accepts into processing yearly. Introduced in 2024, it has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada’s temporary population, with the number of study permit holders dropping from over 1 million in January 2024 to about 725,000 by September 2025.
While this progress is significant, further reductions are needed to meet our commitment of reducing the share of Canada’s temporary population to below 5% of the total population by the end of 2027.