Polytechnics Canada CEO Sarah Watts-Rynard has penned an article for the Globe and Mail arguing that the cap on international students, with its exemptions for master’s and PhD students, demonstrates a bias for universities. While the Government of Canada says that these exemptions will address labour market needs, Watts-Rynard points to labour market demand data that suggests that there are more demonstrable shortages in advanced technical professions that are typically filled by graduates of colleges or polytechnics. Watts-Rynard concludes by writing that problems with international student population growth typically are not due to public postsecondary institutions, but are the result of factors such as reduced educational operating grants and Canada’s immigration policy.
