Federal data obtained by Global News reveals a record 20,245 asylum claims were filed by international students last year, and 2025 is projected to exceed that figure. International students filed 5,500 asylum claims in the first three months of this year, a 22% increase from the same period last year.

During his first news conference as prime minister, Mark Carney reiterated his commitment to reducing the total number of temporary workers and international students to under 5% of the Canadian population by the close of 2027, a decrease from the current 7%.

"This will help ease strains on housing, on public infrastructure and social services," Carney told reporters May 2.

Observers linked a rise in asylum-seeking students to stricter permanent residency rules, including a cap of 364,000 study permits early last year. Work hour limits for students and stricter spousal work permit rules were also implemented.

Debate has grown over Canada's increasing number of temporary residents, including foreign student refugees, and their impact on housing and healthcare services.

Ottawa immigration lawyer Warren Creates states that Carney faces significant political pressure to reduce immigration levels.

"They realized they had to do something to slow it down, to reduce the numbers, even though there would be ill effects — ill effects on the people, their families, and their employers," he told Global.

"We do have a crisis in health care. We have another crisis in housing. Have refugees created that? No. Have they exacerbated it a bit? Probably."

The Department of Immigration data indicates a significant increase in international students seeking asylum, with last year's figures nearly doubling those of 2023 and being six times higher than 2019.

A spokesperson told Global that study permits usually match program length, implying that the impact of recent international student admission reductions is still forthcoming.

"When considering the total number of study permits issued before measures were introduced to stabilize international student numbers, the proportion of permit holders claiming asylum remains small," the statement reads.

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada faces a significant backlog of over 281,000 cases, leading to long processing times.

The cap, among other measures, aims to cool Canada's "overheated" international student system and combat "diploma mills," according to former immigration minister Marc Miller.

He adds that most first-year students claiming asylum do so under false pretenses, emphasizing that coming to Canada "is a privilege, not a right."

In 2024, Conestoga College (720), Seneca College (650), Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (500), Niagara College Canada (495), and Collège Ellis – Trois-Rivières campus (475) had the highest numbers of international students filing asylum claims.

Asylum seekers in Canada must prove a well-founded fear of persecution if returned home, with acceptance rates differing by country of origin. India is among the countries from which most claimants originate, according to the Department of Immigration.

Miller earlier said that some foreigners abuse Canada's generosity with false refugee claims. "Clearly there is advice being given for people that are here that would otherwise have to go home to claim asylum," he said, citing anecdotal evidence.

PETITION: Net-Zero Immigration!

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Canadians are suffering as a result of uncontrolled immigration under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney. The cost of living has soared, there's inadequate housing, and our social welfare system is buckling at the seams. Please sign our petition here to demand that Mark Carney stop the unmitigated influx of immigrants to Canada!

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