Talk about giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
The federal government recently announced student housing would be eligible for low-rate financing under the Apartment Construction Loan Program, part of the $40-billion housing initiative.
At the same time, Ottawa announced it would be reducing the number of international students allowed into Canada by 35 per cent.
That puts post-secondary institutions such as Georgian College in a tight spot. A new report to Barrie city council from staff points out that more than 40 per cent of all college and university students coming into Ontario are now international students and it is having an effect on the local housing supply.
There is no exact number, but the report from staff says there were 2,766 non-permanent residents in Barrie in 2022 and the vast majority was likely at Georgian.
“While many domestic students live with family if attending school locally, international students cannot,” says the report. “The shift towards a higher proportion of international students has had a considerable impact on housing markets, particularly those that include colleges.”
The report points out there are many factors at work in the local affordable housing crisis: rising construction costs, real estate speculation, interest rates, government regulations and income inequality. But the growth in international students does play a role.
To be clear, Barrie has been enriched greatly by international students, economically and culturally. They’ve undoubtedly allowed Georgian College to keep offering many of its programs and introduce new ones, such as the electrical engineering school with Lakehead University. That benefits both local residents looking to further their education and local businesses looking for skilled workers.
But how do we accommodate all those students in the existing tight housing market?
Georgian College has been working on solutions. The SpacesShared program, launched to some fanfare a year ago, connects students with homeowners, often seniors, who have a room available to rent. The idea is that both sides would benefit: students get a safe, affordable place to live and the older adults get companionship and some help around the home.
To date, there are nine matches. A start, certainly, but it’s pretty clear that alone isn’t going to solve the problem.
Over the years, I’ve often heard many people, including city councillors, say Georgian should just build more student residences. In Barrie, it currently has one residence with 524 beds in an eight-storey building.
But the cost of constructing a new building could be astronomical for an institution facing a financial squeeze, even with the promise of low-cost federal loans.
Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., opened a new 148-bed residence last fall that cost almost $19 million. The University of Victoria is halfway through a project to add just under 800 beds at a cost of $236 million.
Georgian College officials would have to think long and hard before committing to putting that kind of money into a new residence with no guarantee it could be filled in the best of times – not every student wants to live in residence, or can afford to, of course. It is especially risky at a time when the federal government seems determined to make a major cut in the number of foreign students coming to Canada.
Georgian is currently working with the city on a housing strategy, expected to be ready in April. It should make interesting reading.
Barry Ward is a veteran editor and journalist who also served on Barrie city council for 22 years. His column appears regularly in BarrieToday.
