In a long-awaited brief posted on November 28, IRCC detailed how next year’s international-student cap will be distributed across provinces and territories. The department will accept no more than 309,670 study-permit applications in 2026 and aims to issue roughly 180,000 permits—about 20 % below 2025 levels. Ontario will receive the largest share (104,780 applications, 70,074 permits) followed by Quebec and British Columbia. Nunavut, which currently has no designated learning institutions, gets no allocation.
Exemptions have been expanded: master’s and PhD students at public institutions, existing permit-holders seeking extensions, K-12 students and certain vulnerable cohorts will not count against the cap. IRCC also reiterated that provincial attestation letters (PAL/TAL) will remain mandatory for most new applicants, forcing colleges and universities to triage offers of admission months in advance.
![IRCC releases 2026 study-permit cap allocations, setting 309,670 application ceiling]()
For post-secondary institutions the numbers crystalize planning assumptions. Ontario colleges—already grappling with a 35 % drop in 2025 intakes—must now re-model budgets for a further decline, while institutions in Atlantic Canada, which won proportionally higher allocations, see new opportunities to attract students displaced from oversubscribed provinces.
Employers in co-op-heavy industries such as IT services and hospitality will feel the ripple effects. Fewer undergraduate permits could tighten part-time labour supply, but the graduate-level exemption preserves a pipeline of highly skilled talent eligible for fast-track work permits and, eventually, permanent residence.
Global mobility teams should note that the cap applies to initial study-permit applications filed outside Canada. In-country changes of status and post-graduation work-permit issuance remain uncapped—at least for now—offering alternative strategies for companies that recruit graduates already studying in Canada.
Exemptions have been expanded: master’s and PhD students at public institutions, existing permit-holders seeking extensions, K-12 students and certain vulnerable cohorts will not count against the cap. IRCC also reiterated that provincial attestation letters (PAL/TAL) will remain mandatory for most new applicants, forcing colleges and universities to triage offers of admission months in advance.
For post-secondary institutions the numbers crystalize planning assumptions. Ontario colleges—already grappling with a 35 % drop in 2025 intakes—must now re-model budgets for a further decline, while institutions in Atlantic Canada, which won proportionally higher allocations, see new opportunities to attract students displaced from oversubscribed provinces.
Employers in co-op-heavy industries such as IT services and hospitality will feel the ripple effects. Fewer undergraduate permits could tighten part-time labour supply, but the graduate-level exemption preserves a pipeline of highly skilled talent eligible for fast-track work permits and, eventually, permanent residence.
Global mobility teams should note that the cap applies to initial study-permit applications filed outside Canada. In-country changes of status and post-graduation work-permit issuance remain uncapped—at least for now—offering alternative strategies for companies that recruit graduates already studying in Canada.
