Will Canada place a cap on international students?

In today’s Big Story Podcast, it’s an issue that sits at the intersection of Canada’s identity and reality. Our country is extremely diverse and pro-immigration, but a massive housing crisis means we simply don’t have enough homes for everyone who needs one.

This week, Canada’s housing minister said the government would consider a cap on the number of international students who can enter the country, in hopes this might ease the housing crunch.

“Canada is still generally a really pro-immigrant country, and [The Liberals] really want to avoid being seen as xenophobic, and in fact, that’s a brush they’d rather paint their conservative rival with. So it’s a tricky one for Trudeau,” said Laura Dhillon Kane, Ottawa bureau chief for Bloomberg News.

Would it alleviate some of the housing crunch? What are the trade-offs to such a move? And is there a risk that the housing crisis pushes more Canadians towards anti-immigration sentiment?

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