Ontario Allocates Majority of International Student Spots to Public Colleges

The provincial government of Ontario has announced that public colleges and universities will receive nearly all international student application spots available for 2026. This decision comes as the federal government has drastically reduced the overall number of spots. Post-secondary Education Minister Nolan Quinn stated that the allocation will prioritize programs aligned with job-market needs, designating approximately 96 percent of the spots to public institutions and only 4 percent to private universities and language schools.

The federal government has provided Ontario with 104,780 provincial attestation letters (PALs), which are necessary for international students seeking study permits. Of these, a maximum of 70,074 study permits can be issued, reflecting a significant 42 percent decrease from the previous year. Graduate students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs at public universities are exempt from requiring PALs, simplifying their application process, though they are still included in the overall international study permit cap.

The number of PALs awarded to Ontario has decreased sharply over recent years. In 2025, Ontario received 181,590 PALs with a cap of 116,740 permits, while in 2024, there were 235,000 PALs and a target of 141,000 permits. The Council of Ontario Universities estimates that it will receive around 24,600 applications in 2026, down from 36,725 in the previous year.

Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council, emphasized the commitment of Ontario’s universities to responsibly recruit and support international students. He warned that further reductions in PALs would have significant consequences, impacting the province’s ability to cultivate talent and diminishing university research and innovation capacities. The financial strain is already evident, with institutions facing over $4.6 billion in revenue losses due to high tuition rates.

Maureen Adamson, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, which represents 24 institutions, expressed concern over the federal policy’s impact on colleges. She stated, “This overall allocation… will have a tremendously negative impact on the financial sustainability of colleges in Ontario.” Adamson highlighted that the situation has surpassed their worst-case revenue projections, with future sustainability now precarious.

The provincial government is currently reviewing the funding formula for post-secondary institutions. Meti Basiri, co-founder of ApplyBoard, noted that the allocation of PALs continues to favor public institutions, though he advocates for a larger share for public colleges. He pointed out that essential health support services and trades programs are predominantly offered by colleges, which require international tuition revenue to remain available for domestic students.

Despite the challenges, Basiri argued that the primary issue facing the sector is not the cap itself, as many institutions have failed to fill their allocated spots in the last two years. This trend follows a decline in interest in studying in Canada, attributed to rapid changes in immigration policies by the federal government. “We have a demand issue,” he explained, emphasizing the need for a strategic shift if recovery does not occur by 2027.

According to the federal Immigration Department, between January and October 2026, Canada welcomed 103,480 new international students, compared to 293,125 in 2024. This decline follows the introduction of study permit caps and changes to post-graduation work permit access designed to manage temporary resident growth.

Lisa Brunner, a research associate at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Migration Studies, pointed out that the allocation process for PALs has not received sufficient attention, a situation that is likely to change as federal international student targets align more closely with real recruitment capacities. She noted, “PALs will become a more limited commodity,” stressing the importance of provincial decisions regarding the allocation process in the coming years.

As Ontario navigates these changes in international student recruitment, the focus remains on balancing the needs of post-secondary institutions with the demands of an evolving job market.