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Seneca Polytechnic is temporarily closing its Markham campus at the end of this term, citing successive federal government decisions limiting new visas for international students.
In January, the federal government announced a 35 per cent cut for 2024, limiting permits to around 360,000, and in September, it introduced another 10 per cent reduction for 2025 and 2026, limiting permits to 437,000.
“To keep our students connected to our thriving Seneca community, we are moving programs from our Markham Campus to either Newnham Campus or Seneca @York Campus as of the Winter 2025 term,” Seneca spokesperson Ryan Flanagan said in a written statement.
“This will mean a smaller student population studying out of this campus.”
The news is creating stress for some students who currently attend Seneca’s Markham campus.
“It was definitely a shock,” said Peterson Apilis, a second-year computer programming student, who first heard the news from his colleagues.
“I’m one of the students working at the Markham campus,” Apilis said. “Basically, my employment is uncertain right now. Hopefully, when we transfer campuses, I’ll still get to keep my job.”
For first-year business analytics student Bright Esaiyese, the change means he’ll need to find a new place to live.
“I will have to get a new house, a new accommodation in North York,” Esaiyese said. “Currently, my rent here has expired and the struggle of actually securing an accommodation, coupled with the recent housing shortage in Canada is going to put me under some sort of stress.”
The international student cap is a result of the pressure on “housing, healthcare and other services,” according to the Government of Canada news release and is meant to ease the housing burden by allowing less people into Canada.
TMU doesn’t have satellite campuses
Though Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) doesn’t have any satellite campuses across the city, some international students at TMU are feeling uneasy about the current political uncertainty and what the future might look like as an international student.
“It is very concerning that [Seneca is] closing the [Markham] campus even if it is for a temporary period of time,” said Juan Diego Navia, a third year psychology major.
“It makes me feel worried that TMU might be in this too,” Navia said. “Imagine what would happen if they decide to close the university for at least a year? My study permit would not let me stay in Canada for that period of time without studying and I would have to leave.”
TMU President Mohamed Lachemi said the university does not have satellite campuses that could be similarly affected by government announcements impacting international students.
“TMU is working with our sector peers – through the Council of Ontario Universities – to advocate for international students and understand how the provincial government will be enacting the latest measures,” Lachemi said in an emailed statement.
Newcomers and international students are crucial to our country, said Larissa Bezo, President and CEO of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
Bezo says she believes international students can bring a different outlook to challenges like greening the economy, meeting short-term labor market needs and contributing to economic growth through spending.
“I think that there is a significant risk that we may see more decisions similar to the recent one at Seneca,” Bezo said.
“They may look different depending on the institutional context, but there is a risk that we can see program closures, perhaps closures of campuses, hiring freezes and the likes, all as a result of the impact of policy decisions that have been made by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship in the 2024 year, beginning with the January 22 announcement.”
Reporter for TMU - Master of Journalism
OTR reporter, Fall 2024
