Ontario announces distribution of allocation for international study permits in 2024

Most international study permits—96% – will go to public universities and colleges in Ontario while the remainder will be split between “language schools, private universities and other institutions” across the province.

In a news release this afternoon, the Government of Ontario has announced that its study permit allocation will focus on prioritising postsecondary educational programs at public institutions to “help prepare graduates for in-demand jobs that support Ontario’s labour market needs.”

Note: This allocation means that career colleges will be excluded from receiving any international student study permit applications. Career colleges are typically private institutions.

According to the release today, Ontario’s provincial government has chosen to allocate study permits for international students by prioritising programs in several “high-demand areas” including:

✅Skilled trades
✅Health human resources
✅Science, Technology, Engineering and ✅Mathematics
✅Hospitality
✅Childcare

Ontario also specified that it will “prioritise French-language enrolment” adding that this is important because “employers compete for workers with French-language skills.”

Today’s press release also detailed the following about Ontario’s study permit allocation in 2024:

The allocation of study permits to an individual institution cannot exceed the number of permits it issued in 2023 and “the ratio of international permits cannot exceed 55% (exclusive of high-demand areas) of the institution’s 2023 first-year domestic enrolment.”

All public Ontario universities other than Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie—which will see a decline from last year’s intake levels—“will keep applications at the 2023 level.”

11 of Ontario’s 24 public colleges will also maintain “applications at the 2023 level.” The largest decline in application volume among colleges will be seen among those “with public-private college partnerships”, as well as Conestoga College specifically.