An escalating unemployment crisis has enveloped at least one million international students in Canada, raising concerns about the repercussions of loose immigration policies and a dearth of low-income job opportunities. With photos circulating on the Canadian Internet depicting long queues for basic cashier positions, foreign students, including Nigerians, lament the scarcity of employment options to sustain their financial obligations.

Despite regulations limiting international students to part-time and predominantly low-wage jobs, landing such employment has become increasingly challenging, exacerbating financial strain for students like Dhvani Malik, a 400-level international relations student at the University of British Columbia. As of March, Statistics Canada revealed a stark unemployment rate of 12.6 percent among young people in Canada, underscoring the nation’s struggle to accommodate its rapidly growing immigrant population.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged the need to address the surge in temporary immigrants, including international students, acknowledging that the influx has outpaced Canada’s capacity to absorb newcomers effectively. The influx of migrants to Canada surged following the country’s liberalization of employment and immigration pathways for international students upon completing their studies, yet the government was ill-prepared for the resulting housing affordability crisis, a consequence of its relaxed immigration policies.

While curtailing the influx of international students could alleviate pressure on Canada’s job market, such a move would pose challenges for Canadian institutions reliant on foreign students’ tuition fees for significant revenue streams. Balancing the need to address unemployment among international students with the economic benefits derived from their enrollment presents a complex dilemma for the Canadian government, requiring a nuanced approach to navigate the competing interests at play.