Canada cap on international students should help ease rent pressure -BoC governor

OTTAWA, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Canada’s move to cap the number of international students should help address the challenge of rising rents, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told the Canadian Press in an interview.

Canada, seeking to rein in a surge of newcomers that has exacerbated a housing crisis, on Monday announced an immediate, two-year cap on permits for international students and said it would stop allowing some students to work after graduation.

“You saw this week the government capping student visas,” the Canadian Press cited Macklem as saying. “That, I think, will help take a bit of pressure off rents going forward.”

The central bank on Wednesday expressed concern that high shelter prices could put upward pressure on inflation for some time. Although the overall annual inflation rate in December was 3.4%, shelter-price inflation remained elevated at 7% due to a housing shortage, higher mortgage payments and rental costs.