Rural Manitoba Christian college grappling with drop in international enrolment

Providence University College is set to welcome back its varsity basketball and volleyball teams after a million dollar gym renovation. The program's success has seen players from around the world coming to play for the Providence Pilots. With our program being nationally recognized and successful, we are getting more recruits from outside the province and getting some top-end talent leaving home. But there are fewer international students to choose from. Providence College has seen an 80% drop from over 1,000 to about 200 this year as graduates leave and aren't replaced. That's because since 2024, Ottawa has slashed the number of new international students across the country in an effort to lower Canada's temporary population. That's disproportionately affected smaller provinces like Manitoba, according to this year's Auditor General report on the reforms. The biggest drop in new students allowed into Manitoba came this year, down 40% to just over 11,000. Manitoba's government is giving just 9% of the limited spots for new students to private institutions. The rest going to public schools like the University of Manitoba and Winnipeg and Red River College. Despite all public schools seeing drops in allowed new enrollment, not all of their spots are being filled, a trend across Canada. Providence President Kenton Anderson says his private Christian college has a track record of recruiting from every continent, but so far he's been unsuccessful in convincing the province to let them have those unused student spots. The province has made clear that what they have they want to prioritize the schools that are supported by the taxpayers and that makes sense to us. I would say that we have been particularly effective at converting those allocations into actual students in our college schools. Unless the federal government allows more international students into Manitoba or the province allows more international students to go to private institutions, Providence University College will continue to rely on alumni donations and drawing students from across Canada. Christopher Garreau, CBC News, Otterburn.