For years, international students have made up a large portion of the student body at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, B.C.

But under Canada’s tightening immigration policies, many on campus are now questioning their decision to come north — and local businesses and community leaders are worried about a knock-on effect on the workforce.

Holiness Ozumba, who is from Nigeria, came to CNC last year to study social work.

She quickly got involved with campus life, joining the student union’s board of directors and becoming the college’s representative with the B.C. Federation of Students.

“I had so many options to go to so many places, but I chose Canada because I believe that Canada operates in the best interest of international immigrants,” Ozumba said.

But her future after graduation is now uncertain.

On Nov. 1, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)  implemented changes to the post-graduation work permit program.

International students require a work permit after graduating. But now graduates from public colleges will only qualify for a permit if they have studied in fields related to occupations in which the federal government has identified labour shortages.

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University graduates with bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees are still eligible for a permit of up to three years, regardless of their field of study.

“It was unexpected. It is disappointing and it is harsh. It is really, really harsh, actually,” said Ozumba. “It creates so much uncertainty. We don’t know what the future holds.”

The changes come as Canada pedals back on its loosening of temporary foreign worker (TFW) restrictions during a post-COVID labour shortage — a decision that led to a spike in the number of low-wage workers.

In September, the federal government announced plans to reduce the number of temporary residents in the country from 6.2 per cent to five per cent by 2027. This includes TFWs and the number of student visas.

Holiness Ozumba came to Prince George from Nigeria to study at the College of New Caledonia and hopes to go into social work. She says the new rules on postgraduate work permits are ‘really, really harsh.’ (Submitted by Holiness Ozumba)

Ozumba says even if her program does end up qualifying for a post-graduate work permit, she feels like Canada is no longer as welcoming as she once thought.

“Immigrants are just used to boost Canada’s economy and now they want to put all these strict rules that will frustrate them out of the country. That is the message that was put out there,” she said.

Many students stay in north, college says

Over 1,500 international students from more than 40 countries came to study at CNC for the 2022-23 academic year — almost a quarter of the school’s total enrolment of 6,610.

The school isn’t alone in the north in having a high international cohort: there were 3,656 at the University of Northern British Columbia in the same year, or around 17 per cent of the total.

Gurtej Singh, chair of the CNC student union, says many international students he’s spoken to are confused about the new regulations and worried they will have to go back to their home countries when they finish their programs.

“We have a big international student population here at CNC and they were quite concerned,” said Singh, who is from Punjab, India, and is now in his third semester in the associate of arts program at CNC.

“A lot of them are actually skilled workers and they could potentially be one of the best if allowed to work here,” he said. “But with the current rules, a lot of them are not going to be eligible for the work permit. It’s bad for us.”

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CNC says many of its international students end up staying in northern B.C. after they graduate. Between 2017 and 2021, around 61 per cent of former international students were still living in the region a year after finishing their program, the college reported.

Workforce fears

The potential knock-on impact of fewer graduates entering the local workforce due to the new restrictions has raised concerns among business groups across northern B.C.

In an open letter, the chambers of commerce in Prince George, Mackenzie, Vanderhoof and Quesnel Chambers of Commerce said the new rules will harm the regional economy.

Neil Godbout, president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, says the regulations are a one-size-fits-all rule that doesn’t work for northern B.C. communities and unfairly targets college students.

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“My concern is for employers who have opportunities for international students graduating from college programs, if the employer is willing, if the student is willing — but someone in Ottawa is saying, ‘No, we can’t provide you a work permit because from our desk here in Ottawa we don’t identify a work labour shortage in your area,” Godbout said.

He also says the rules will make it difficult to attract international students to college programs in the north — which, in turn, means fewer people to fill vacant positions in hospitality, tourism and small businesses in underpopulated areas.

“It is a demonstrated value of what these work permits lead to,” he said.

“This is the first step for these international students to then become permanent residents and then maybe eventually to become citizens.

“To add extra hoops to jump through for these international students graduating from college programs just seems unfair, frankly.”

More than 1,500 international students from more than 40 countries came to study at CNC for the 2022-23 academic year — almost a quarter of the school’s total enrolment. (Hanna Petersen/CBC)

‘They contribute, they are hard working’

Further north in Fort Nelson, TFWs and their family members make up about 10 per cent of the community’s population of about 3,500, and work in various commercial businesses, restaurants and hotels, according to Rob Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.

“They contribute, they are hard working, their kids are going to our schools,” he said.

But he’s worried it will now be difficult for those workers to get their permits renewed and there’s no clear path for them to become permanent residents.

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Fraser also thinks local businesses will have more difficulty attracting workers for entry-level jobs.

“In small rural and remote communities temporary foreign workers are really important to our economy and we would like to see them become permanent parts of our community,” he said.

As for Ozumba, she says she planned to stay in the north and had dreams of eventually getting a PhD.

She’s no longer sure if that’s a possibility for her.

“There are some of us that are not just here for papers. Some of us actually love to invest, to learn and to give back to the economy,” she said.