The recent changes to the Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) eligibility introduced by the federal government will have profound and far-reaching consequences for Ontarians. We are deeply disappointed that these decisions were made without consideration of how they will impact everyday people across Ontario and without consultation with the province.
All Ontarians rely on college graduates.
These changes will significantly affect the ability of Ontarians to access vital services like affordable childcare, dental care, mental health supports and health care in their communities. Areas where colleges are already not able to keep up with demand for talent. Local economies and employers, particularly in key growth sectors such as construction, advanced manufacturing and energy will face disruptions, as these industries rely heavily on a steady stream of college-trained workers to meet demand. Again, areas where colleges are already not able to keep up with demand for talent. These federal policy changes do nothing to accelerate housing construction or growth in the skilled trades pipeline.
Our view is that we should all be working together to enhance the pipeline of talent for high-demand sectors, rather than arbitrarily cutting talent off as the current federal approach does.
We understand the goal of the federal government is to align work permits to the needs of the labour market. As such, the federal government’s approach needs to prioritize programs that are critical in supporting the day-to-day lives of Ontarians. By excluding college programs that train workers for vital roles, these changes will make labour shortages worse, impacting communities across the province. We have not been given an explanation as to why only college students were targeted by these changes. We believe that the hard-working students graduating from college programs are just as vital to the quality of life and economic growth of the province as university graduates are.
The federal government has not worked with the province to develop a list of post-secondary programs that accurately reflects Ontario’s workforce needs. This means several glaring omissions exist.
We urge the federal government to delay the rushed implementation of these changes to ensure adequate consideration of the needs of everyday Ontarians, and of employers, across the whole province. We continue to urge meaningful dialogue with the province to ensure that Ontarians are not disadvantaged by these policy changes. It is essential that future decisions are made with input from the province to reflect the needs of the people who depend on the strong and responsive workforce that comes from colleges.
Examples of impact:
- Dental assisting and dental hygiene students will no longer be able to work in Canada. Access to dental care particularly relies on these graduates. Dental hygienists are just as critical to the delivery of dental care as are dentists.
- One sector that is particularly affected by these changes is Early Childhood Education (ECE). Ontario aims to create over 70,000 new childcare spaces by the end of 2026, and international students have been critical in helping to meet this demand, with over 4,500 international ECE students currently enrolled in Ontario colleges. The federal government's recent changes will severely disrupt this pipeline, meaning new spaces for parents won’t open up anytime soon.
- Many critical engineering technician and technologist programs are not eligible under these changes, including chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical and aerospace. We estimate that over 5,000 international students are currently enrolled in such programs - critical for growth in advanced manufacturing and many other sectors of Ontario’s economy – including green energy. This oversight, if not fixed, effectively means that this talent pipeline will evaporate.
- Registered nurses graduating from college cannot stay in Canada – but nursing students graduating from university are able to do so, even though in Ontario these programs are exactly the same. We believe we need all hands-on deck to address serious shortfalls in healthcare talent.
- In many areas of the province, travel, tourism, and hospitality are key sectors of the economy. Due to IRCC’s changes, smaller communities are at risk as international student make up a core part of the workforce, with over 16,000 international students currently enrolled in tourism, hospitality and culinary programs.