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2mo ago

Canada’s Auditor-General Plans Audit of International Student Program

Scheduled for 2026, the audit will probe program management in light of record enrolments alongside a surge in asylum applications.

Auditor General Karen Hogan holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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A new Canadian citizen takes a flag during a citizenship ceremony at Canada Place on Canada Day, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on July 1. (Bloomberg)

Overview

  • The Auditor-General’s office has entered the planning phase for a formal review of the international student program with scope details yet to be defined.
  • A report on the audit’s findings is slated for tabling in Parliament in 2026, spokesperson Claire Beaudry confirmed.
  • IRCC’s study permit issuances have declined from 681,000 in 2023 to 516,000 in 2024 and are capped at 437,000 for 2025.
  • Enrolment topped one million in 2023—nearly triple the level a decade earlier—fueling pressures on housing markets and healthcare services.
  • Asylum claims by international students hit a record 20,245 in 2024 and climbed another 22% in the first quarter of 2025, underscoring pathway challenges.