Post-secondary institutions in Brandon continue to see a decline in international student enrollment.
Assiniboine College has seen its international student numbers fall following federal changes capping study visas. So far this academic year, the college has reported more than 600 international students, down from 1,100 in the 2025-26 school year.
“Because of this, we have had to reduce some of our annual program intakes and, in other cases, cancel programs altogether,” said Danielle Adriaansen, Assiniboine College vice-president of students and enrolment.
Adriaansen said some of the affected programs operate on a cost-recovery model, meaning they need to maintain a certain level of enrollment to remain viable.
“There are no funds from these programs, so they require a certain level of enrollment.”
Brandon’s Assiniboine College campus has also felt the impact, with lower enrollment affecting its Baking Foundations and Animal Protein Food Processing programs.
Brandon University (BU) is experiencing a similar trend, recording a more than 16 per cent decline in international students, from 354 in 2025-26 to 296 in 2026-27.
The university’s international enrollment peaked at 527 students in the 2023-24 academic year.
Grant Hamilton, BU’s director of marketing and communications, said the decline is creating challenges for course offerings.
“We’re not eliminating entire programs, but some classes may have to go from two sections to one because of lower enrollment. That limits students’ options for when they can take a course. International students help boost enrollment across programs, allowing us to offer more sections and a wider range of classes.”
Unlike some post-secondary institutions across Canada, Hamilton said BU did not heavily rely on international student enrollment growth.
“There always has to be a balance. We weren’t focused on reaching the maximum number of international students like some other institutions. Our priority remained serving the Westman region.”
Despite the decline in international students, Hamilton said BU’s overall enrollment is up 2.4 per cent year-over-year, helping offset the drop.
However, he said institutions are missing out on the diversity of perspectives and backgrounds international students bring to campus.
“Your upbringing shapes how you see and understand the world. Bringing those different perspectives into the classroom makes international students tremendous assets to the learning experience for everyone on campus. That diversity is what we’re really losing.”
Adriaansen shared a similar view, saying international students also help domestic students gain a broader understanding of the world.
“International perspectives help Canadian students better understand the world around them.”
Looking ahead, Adriaansen said post-secondary institutions will need to adjust to the lower international enrollment levels becoming the new normal.
“This is the normal environment that we’re going to be in. But I think that we’re going to be working towards very modest regrowth in our international student population in future years.”
