By Mata Press Service

Canada’s campaign to reduce international student numbers is rippling beyond colleges and universities, with the country’s language education sector reporting another sharp drop in foreign enrolment.

A new annual survey by Languages Canada found its member programs enrolled 81,636 students in 2025, down 13 per cent from a year earlier among schools reporting in both years. The amount of time students spent studying fell even faster, with total student weeks dropping 19 per cent.

The decline has left enrolment at little more than half its pre-pandemic level and has triggered warnings from the sector that government policy is pushing some schools to the brink.

Languages Canada members taught 150,112 students in 2019, compared with 81,636 last year. Student weeks fell from more than 1.5 million to fewer than 799,000 over the same period.

The report describes the language education industry as being in a “state of crisis” and places much of the blame on what it calls restrictive and unpredictable immigration and visa policies.

Languages Canada said the changes have reduced enrolment, forced programs to scale back and contributed to some closures. The organization represents English and French language programs at private schools, colleges and universities across Canada.

The findings come as Ottawa pushes ahead with a broader effort to shrink Canada’s temporary resident population after years of rapid growth in international student numbers.

The federal government imposed its first national cap on international study permits in 2024, lowered the target again in 2025 and has tightened it further this year.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada expects to issue up to 408,000 study permits in 2026, including 155,000 for newly arriving international students and 253,000 extensions for students already in Canada. That total is seven per cent below the 2025 target and 16 per cent below the 2024 target.

The impact on new arrivals has been much steeper.

Federal data show 115,060 new study permit holders arrived in Canada in 2025, compared with 292,915 in 2024. During the first five months of 2026, only 19,425 new students arrived, 83 per cent fewer than during the same period in 2024.

Ottawa says the cuts are needed to bring temporary migration back to sustainable levels and relieve pressure on housing and public services. The number of people holding study permits in Canada fell from more than one million in early 2024 to 632,850 by the end of May 2026.

Language schools occupy an unusual position in that crackdown.

Many language students aren't technically part of the study permit system at all. Foreign nationals taking programs lasting six months or less generally don't need a study permit, although they still require the appropriate visitor visa or electronic travel authorization to enter Canada.

That helps explain one of the report’s more striking findings. Only 13 per cent of language students in 2025 entered Canada on a study permit. Another 40 per cent entered using an electronic travel authorization and 21 per cent travelled on a temporary resident visa.

The numbers suggest the fallout from Canada’s international education reset is extending beyond students directly covered by the permit cap.

The broader policy shift, tougher visa environment and changing international perception of Canada appear to be affecting short-term students as well, although the Languages Canada executive summary does not isolate how much of the decline can be attributed to any single immigration measure.

The downturn carries particular significance for Asia.

Japan remained the largest source of language students to Canada in 2025, sending 11,922 students who accounted for more than 104,000 student weeks.

South Korea ranked third with 7,149 students, while China sent 4,225 and Taiwan 2,815. Together, those four Asian markets accounted for more than 26,000 students, close to one-third of all students reported by Languages Canada members.

Brazil was Canada’s second-largest source market with 9,580 students, followed by South Korea, Mexico, China, Colombia, Taiwan, France and Italy. Canada itself ranked fifth as a source of language learners.

The heavy Asian presence underscores how changes to Canada’s international education policies can quickly spill into a much wider education and tourism economy.

Language students often arrive for shorter stays than university or college students and spend money on tuition, accommodation, restaurants, transportation and tourism while in Canada.

Languages Canada estimates its members generated $1.03 billion in direct economic activity in 2025, down only one per cent from the previous year despite the sharp decline in enrolment. Average weekly tuition was $396, while average weekly accommodation revenue was $420.

The sector remains overwhelmingly international. Foreign students accounted for 93 per cent of enrolment last year, with Canadians making up just seven per cent. English programs attracted 92 per cent of students, while French programs accounted for eight per cent. Private institutions enrolled 77 per cent of students.

The report was based on responses from 160 of Languages Canada’s 161 member programs, giving it a 98 per cent participation rate.

The contraction in language education mirrors a wider reversal now taking place across Canadian post-secondary education.

Statistics Canada estimates international student numbers between the 2023-24 and 2025-26 academic years have fallen by about 24 per cent in British Columbia, 26 per cent in Atlantic Canada, 17 per cent in the Prairie provinces and 14 per cent in Quebec.

The federal government has also raised the amount of money international students must demonstrate they have available for living expenses and tightened eligibility for post-graduation work permits and spousal work permits.