Housing Shortage Being Driven by Foreign Students, Canadian Minister Says
- Academic permits have nearly tripled to 800,000 over a decade
- Cabinet to hear from experts on Canada’s affordability crunch
Students at the University of British Columbia during the first week of classes in Vancouver last September.
Photographer: Taehoon Kim/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A massive increase in international students coming to Canada in recent years is putting pressure on the property market and a cap on visas may be needed, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said.
“I think that’s one of the options that we ought to consider,” Fraser told reporters Monday when asked about capping student visas. “But I think we should start by trying to partner with institutions to understand what role they may play to reduce the pressure on the communities that they’re operating within.”