The IRCC International Students Data for 2026

 

IRCC approach to immigration

New data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows 65,240 new student arrivals in 2026, up to the end of August.

This number represents a 26.5 per cent decrease compared with the January-to-August of 2025, and a 71 per cent decline from the  221,680 new arrivals in 2024.

The IRCC is focusing immigration on where it delivers the greatest impact — filling labour gaps, strengthening key sectors of the economy and supporting communities across the country. Our balanced and sustainable approach will support Canada’s own workforce, while attracting and keeping the world’s best talent with the skills and experience needed to grow the economy.

The 2026 - 2028 Immigration Levels Plan reduces arrival targets for new temporary residents and stabilizes targets for permanent resident admissions. We’re also introducing additional measures that will restore balance and control of the immigration system, while providing stability to those already living, working, and contributing to our country.

As part of the development of this plan, The IRCC consulted extensively with provinces and territories, a wide variety of stakeholders and partners, as well as other federal government departments.

How students benefit from EU 'associate member' status

How Canadian students could benefit from EU 'associate member' status

In his speech at the European Parliament, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canadian membership in the EU's student exchange program, Erasmus+, would give students an opportunity to 'broaden their horizons' and build lasting ties to sustain the alliance between Canada and Europe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48xPeKOuL8Q

As Canada and the EU court closer ties, Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled clear interest in joining Erasmus+, a popular European exchange program.

While many details of the suggested new partnership are left to be ironed out — like what it would mean to be the EU's first "associate member" — Carney specifically pitched Canadian involvement in Erasmus+ when he delivered a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday. 

"Canadian membership of Erasmus+ would give your students and ours more opportunity to learn at some of the world's top universities, to broaden their horizons and to build those lasting ties that will sustain our alliance for the future," Carney said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-canada-eu-partnership-associate-membership-erasmus-9.7348566

This site is managed by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities

Languages Canada launched Joint Pathway Program

 

Notice to Students

There have been several recent cancellations of joint venture pathway programs due to changes in Canada immigration laws, changes to visa limits, abuse by international students, abuse by international education agents and abuse by private language & vocational education training schools.

We are hopeful that this pilot program can be expanded into a national program.

 We have to warn that there are still a few bad actors with a bad history of breaking the rules, breaking the law and cheating students.

ESL in Canada will publish good and bad results for this joint venture.

From Language Canada Website:

Languages Canada has officially launched the Ontario pilot phase of the Joint Pathway Program (JPP), marking an important milestone in the revival of compliant, sustainable language pathway programs in Canada.

The launch event brought together public colleges and accredited private language schools to formally initiate participation in the Joint Pathway Program. 

The umbrella MoUs formalize each institution’s participation in the JPP framework with Languages Canada, establishing governance, oversight, and coordination mechanisms for the pilot phase. 

A new model for language pathways

The Joint Pathway Program is a fully IRCC-compliant joint program model that allows accredited private language schools and public post-secondary institutions to collaborate within a single, integrated pathway. Students complete their language education across private and public partner institutions while remaining within one joint program framework and one study permit, leading to a single language credential and, subsequently, to a seamless transition into their chosen degree, diploma, or certificate program at the public partner.

The model responds to challenges in the language and international education sectors by improving compliance clarity, strengthening partnerships, and creating more predictable enrolment pipelines.

From pilot to national scale

The Ontario pilot is the first step in a broader national rollout. The JPP will be launched nationally at the Languages Canada Annual Conference, taking place March 11–14, 2026, in Calgary.