Ottawa announced 2026 international student cap allocations with new graduate student exemptions

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has released provincial and territorial allocations for 2026 under the international student cap, setting a national target of 408,000 study permits—down 7% from 2025. The cap, which has successfully reduced the number of study permit holders from over 1 million to approximately 725,000 since its 2024 introduction, aims to lower Canada's temporary population to below 5% by 2027. As announced before, master's and doctoral students at public institutions will no longer require provincial attestation letters. Ontario will receive the largest allocation with 104,780 application spaces, followed by Quebec with 93,069, while a total of 309,670 spaces will be distributed nationwide based on population and historical approval rates.

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