International students say it will be a problem to stay in Canada if they can’t find housing

Incoming George Brown international student Harshal Bhasgauri says he’s dipped into his family’s savings in India to pay months of rent in advance just to get a shot at finding a place to live in Toronto for the school year.

Even then, he says the past four months of searching for housing were filled with unanswered and rejected rental applications, leaving him wondering why he was invited to come to Canada if there was no housing available.

“I am always moments away from like a mental breakdown, just from the stress of wondering if I’m going to be homeless,” said Bhasgauri, 24.

“While it’s super beneficial for Canada to bring immigrants, and it gives people from other countries a chance to experience a first-world country … I think at some point this country needs to realize that they’re just going one step forward and two steps back.”

The influx of international students has been increasing steadily. A record 550,150 international student study permits were issued last year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). That’s a 75 per cent increase from just five years ago.

Experts note there’s currently no cap on the number of students coming here, and no requirement by provincial or federal governments to make schools build corresponding housing. The IRCC says it’s reviewing its international student program, with the federal housing minister saying Monday the federal government is considering a cap on the number of international students to ease the pressure on the housing market.

But advocates say more needs to be done at all levels to not only build more housing for international students, but to examine the incentives schools have to bring students to Canada in the first place.

Schools benefit from international students

Steve Pomeroy, a senior research fellow for the Centre for Urban Research and Education at Carleton University, pointed to the federal government’s growth in study permit approvals even as provinces gradually cut back on post-secondary funding throughout the years.

He says this has prompted post-secondary institutions to use international students as a way to make up for lost revenue.

“You can spread the blame around,” said Pomeroy.

Rent for student housing is out of control. Is there a fix?

Students are being faced with higher rents and a shortage of supply and some experts say post-secondary institutions need to co-ordinate enrolment levels with the availability of housing.

Mateusz Salmassi, the director of advocacy for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), says the organization has heard from international students like Bhasguari who say they were asked to pay months or even a year’s worth of rent in advance to secure a unit.

He says some students shared stories of living in cramped and unsafe housing that was in disrepair, while others said they had to live in their cars because they couldn’t find anywhere else to live.

According to Salmassi, who is himself an international student from the United States, the lengths these students go to in order to find housing compromises the whole point of immigrating to Canada in the first place, especially because he says they pay much more in tuition fees than domestic students.

“If students have unstable enough housing and can’t afford housing, their ability to get to graduation is put at risk,” he said.

Racialized students can face discrimination

According to IRCC data from 2023, the bulk of international students came from China, Nigeria, the Philippines and India, with the latter comprising about 40 per cent of all study permits granted.

Tania Das Gupta, a gender, sexuality and women’s studies professor at York University who specializes in immigration, says that because international students are usually racialized, discrimination and racism on the part of landlords can make it even harder for this group to find housing.

“Instead of blaming them for their own situation, I think we need to focus on the institutions … that are benefiting from the revenues that they’re paying,” said Das Gupta.

Oversight needed to prevent exploitation of international students

The path to an education in Canada for international students from India can be riddled with roadblocks — from education agents resorting to shady tactics to questionable recruiting practices at private colleges. Advocates want more oversight in both countries to prevent students from being exploited during the process.

Calls for government to invest more

Salmassi says CASA is calling on the government to not only collect more data on the state of the student rental market, but also to invest billions of dollars into dedicated student housing.

“We know that will do two things,” said Salmassi. “It will create safe and affordable housing for the students who need it, and it will also ease the pressure on the rest of the housing market off campus.”

Meanwhile, post-secondary institutions say they’re already building housing, but need more support from the federal government to match demand.

National organizations like Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) have asked for expanded eligibility in funding programs through the National Housing Strategy to help get more housing projects off the ground.

“Expanding access to low-cost financing to build housing, broadening eligibility for programs through the National Housing Strategy and prioritizing affordable housing projects will enable Canada to better meet its diverse and growing housing needs,” Philip Landon, interim CEO and president of Universities Canada, said in an email.

Universities Canada pointed to several examples of post-secondary institutions building on-campus housing. Including Huron University College, which is affiliated with Western University in London, Ont.

The school said it began construction of a new residence with 311 student rooms in December and is set to open in fall 2024.

Schools cautious around recruitment

Alain Roy, the president of international partnerships at CICan says members are being “very careful” in how they recruit and enrol students from abroad to make sure they can support their time in Canada.

Roy says that in its 2024 pre-budget submission, CICan asked the federal government for $2.6 billion over the next three years to create a loan and grant program for new student housing that would aim to create at least 14,000 beds across Canada.

“There’s kind of really new and innovative programming or initiatives that institutions are developing to meet the short-term needs,” said Roy, pointing toward programs that connect students looking for housing with older people who have rooms to rent as an example.

“But in the mid or long-term what we need is to build more housing, to have the right kind of attention to the kinds of incentives that are there to accelerate the building.”

IRCC response

The IRCC said it is “in talks with” provinces and territories, national educational associations and other key partners when it comes to making changes to its International Student Program to address the student housing shortage.

“The department is currently undertaking a review of the program to examine how it can better select and retain students who can help Canada meet its economic, social and cultural goals,” IRCC said in an emailed statement.

Bhasgauri, an aspiring data scientist, says he supports the federal government exploring a cap into international student permits as a way to tackle the housing crisis now and in the coming years.

“Me as an immigrant student agreeing to this [should] give people who are not here an idea about how bad the situation is,” he said.

As things currently stand, Bhasgauri says that while he appreciates the opportunity to learn in Canada, he doesn’t think he’d bring his family here after he graduates due to the overall affordability crisis.

“I can work three jobs and bring them here just so we can all live in a big house and have one car that we all drive,” he said.

“I just don’t want that life for myself or my parents.”