CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Mohamed Ateeq vividly remembers what it was like sharing a cramped Charlottetown house with five others last year, paying $800 for ...
Ateeq, who’s originally from India, is among more than 800,000 international students that Canada hosted last year, according to Statistics Canada figures.Housing and Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraserin Charlottetown last month during a three-day cabinet retreat in P.E.I. that Ottawa is considering a cap on the number of international students to ease housing pressure.
Last month, CBC reported Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada will host around 900,000 international students in 2023. He pointed out an often-overlooked factor: P.E.I.'s population growth is also influenced by interprovincial migration – people migrating to the Island from elsewhere in Canada.
Considering that P.E.I. houses only a university and a college, Sen said putting a limit on the number of students coming to P.E.I. from abroad might not do much to ease the housing crunch. “It helps us in reducing our median age. It gives the market a vibrant workforce,” he said. “Canada is not a young country. And for a vibrant economy, you really need a working age population.”
As for Mohamed Ateeq, over the past year living in P.E.I., he’s seen how international students are working for various local businesses, particularly in food services, retail, and hospitality.