In the first quarter of 2025 alone, over 13 per cent of Canada’s accredited English and French language education programs in our public colleges and universities and private language schools have shut down. The number of official languages programs is now at its lowest since 2011. This isn’t a blip. In 2019, the sector generated $6.7-billion and supported 75,000 jobs. By 2024, those numbers dropped to $3.7-billion and 35,000 jobs, with 2025 projected to decline further.
This is a national crisis hiding in plain sight.
What’s the cause? Not the pandemic—every accredited program made it through. Not lack of demand—global interest in English and French remains strong. Not poor quality—Canada remains a global leader in language education and quality assurance.
The real problem is our nation’s broken federal immigration system, which has shirked its responsibility towards official languages. Over the past year, 13 major immigration policy changes have been introduced—rushed and reactive responses to complex problems like housing shortages and workforce gaps.
However, language students didn’t cause the housing crisis—most live with Canadian host families. They don’t burden the workforce—they aren’t allowed to work while studying. Yet none of the new policies considered the impact on language programs or the simple solutions that could have protected them. The result: a sector collapsing, investors fleeing, and programs shutting down across the country.
The protection of Canada’s official languages is a federal responsibility, but Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has ignored that obligation in its overhaul of the International Student Program. Language education has become collateral damage in IRCC’s blunt effort to reduce international student numbers. While controlling runaway growth in some segments of education was legitimate, the indiscriminate cuts have devastated language programs that played no part in the problem—and are, in fact, part of the solution to building a more productive, socially cohesive Canada.
It’s encouraging that the Auditor General Karen Hogan has launched a review of the international student program. We urge her to include in this audit an examination of how IRCC has fulfilled—or failed to fulfill—its duties under the Official Languages Act.
Language education is a proven academic and economic multiplier. International students who study English or French in Canada before enrolling in post-secondary institutions get better grades and are more likely to graduate. Language-proficient graduates are more productive, safer on the job, and more likely to integrate into Canadian life. That’s good for our economy and our communities.
And it’s about more than outcomes—it’s about identity, something that we keenly feel during this time of trade tension with our southern neighbour. Our two official languages are not just legal obligations; they are central to who we are. They reflect our values of inclusion, diversity, and shared citizenship. When we neglect them, we erode something essential to Canada’s national character.
Canadians have criticized the United States for denying admission to qualified students due to erratic visa policies. Yet the same thing is happening here. Tens of thousands of international students who complete their English or French language studies in this country and are ready to begin post-secondary programs—many already accepted and integrated—are now in limbo due to new regulations that don’t allow seamless transition between preparatory language and college or university programs.
Canada stands to lose more than revenue and jobs. We are losing a sector that strengthens our identity, boosts productivity, and fosters diverse, inclusive communities.
This crisis was created by policy, and it can be resolved with policy. We are hopeful that new Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab will take a more balanced approach, stabilizing immigration policy and implementing evidence-based solutions that protect the integrity of both immigration and education.
These priorities are not in conflict. We can protect immigration integrity while enabling a vibrant official languages education sector that welcomes international students, enriches institutions, and serves as critical infrastructure for our economy, society, and national identity.
If we fail to see language education as core national infrastructure that demands safeguarding, we’re not just mismanaging a sector. We are undermining Canada’s future.
Let’s not let that happen.
Gonzalo Peralta is the executive director of Languages Canada, the national association for English and French language education, representing 170 accredited college, university, and private sector programs across Canada.
The Hill Times