Highlights of recent changes to Quebec’s international student body

MONTREAL — Quebec wants to cut the number of international students in the province, and has singled out private colleges that it says are using education as a “business model to sell Quebec and Canadian citizenship.”

But federal and provincial data shows a recent rise in foreign students at colleges and francophone universities that seems to be aligned with Quebec’s policy of attracting francophone students, especially in the regions. Enrolment at unsubsidized private colleges, meanwhile, has cratered.

Here are some numbers on international students in Quebec, from federal and provincial data:

Top 5 universities for international students in 2023

McGill University — 10,783

Concordia University — 8,669

Université de Montréal — 7,061

Université Laval — 5,736

Université du Québec à Montréal — 4,373

Universities with the biggest increase in study permits between 2022 and 2023

Université du Québec en Outaouais — 1,665 students in 2023, an increase of 1,160

Université du Québec à Chicoutimi — 3,020 in 2023, an increase of 1,120

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières — 2,760 in 2023, an increase of 900

Université Laval — 4,590 in 2023, an increase of 880

Université du Québec à Rimouski — 1,505 in 2023, an increase of 820

CÉGEPs with the biggest increase in study permits between 2022 and 2023

CÉGEP de Trois-Rivières — 345 permits in 2023, an increase of 175

CÉGEP de Jonquière — 345 in 2023, an increase of 165

CÉGEP de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue — 245 in 2023, an increase of 135

CÉGEP Limoilou — 300 in 2023, an increase of 125

CÉGEP de Granby — 170 in 2023, an increase of 115

Private subsidized colleges with the biggest increase in study permits between 2022 and 2023

Institut Teccart — 2,235 permits in 2023, an increase of 1,345

Collège Ellis, campus de Trois-Rivières — 1,140 in 2023, an increase of 1,015

Collège Supérieur de Montréal — 1,320 in 2023, an increase of 760

Collège Universel — 720 in 2023, an increase of 535

Collège LaSalle — 1,465 in 2023, an increase of 535

Private unsubsidized college enrolment

2020 — 19,225

2021 — 12,854

2022 — 7,765

2023 — 1,370

Countries that saw the biggest increase in study permits between 2022 and 2023

Algeria — 5,875 permits in 2023, an increase of 2,315

Guinea — 2,810 in 2023, an increase of 1,995

Côte d’Ivoire — 3,010 in 2023, an increase of 1,830

Cameroon — 3,225 in 2023, an increase of 1,740

Senegal — 3,025 in 2023, an increase of 1,575

Post-secondary institutions with the most asylum claims in 2024

Université du Québec à Chicoutimi — 300

Collège Ellis, campus de Trois-Rivières — 255

Université Laval — 215

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières — 200

Université du Québec en Outaouais — 190

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press