Canada’s post-secondary institutions are feeling the pinch as the federal government’s cap on international student permits drops.

This includes Camosun College in Saanich, BC, which has 400 fewer international students than originally budgeted before government intervention.

The college is now targeting a $5 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.

Lynelle Yutani, president of the Camosun College Faculty Association, said the union has been told layoffs are coming but is still awaiting details.

“I think it’s time for our province to advocate for transitional support funding,” Yutani said.

In a statement to CTV News, Camosun College confirmed it was “forced to make the difficult decision to eliminate vacancies” and will impose layoffs “across all employee groups” to address the shortfall.

The college also said it was disappointed by the federal government’s lack of consultation on its license limit.

For its part, the CCFA said it had not been consulted by the college about future cuts either, and wanted to make sure job losses stayed out of classrooms.

“Administrative salaries and administrative expenses have grown at the college faster than any other field,” Yutani said.

Outside the classroom, many college workers fall under the CUPE banner.

In a statement to CTV News, CUPE 2081 said the current funding structure “has forced colleges and universities to rely too heavily on international student tuition to support core operations” and that “the move from an emergency budget to a emergency is unsustainable”.

Tony Elder, associate vice-president of academic resource planning for Victoria University, said the school also had to make “some difficult financial decisions”, suffering two budget cuts in the past three years, with some job losses.

UVic’s international student population is down nearly 1,000 students from a decade ago, which has resulted in a significant financial impact. While a Canadian student spends about $6,000 a year on tuition, international students pay about $30,000 a year.

“For a four-year undergraduate program, this is a significant investment,” Eder said.

Vancouver Island University told CTV News that it has seen a 16 per cent reduction in the number of international students in 2023 and that the change aligns with wider trends affecting post-secondary institutions in Canada. This reduction has caused VIU to reevaluate its budgets and operational plans.

As fewer international students come to the country, more postsecondary institutions will have to make some tough decisions to cover future budget shortfalls, which could include more job losses.