Prime Highlights

• Canada’s language pathway enrolments collapsed from 23% to the low single digits after 2024 immigration policy changes.
• Languages Canada launched the Joint Pathway Program, letting students study at two institutions under one study permit.

Key Facts

• Ontario directed 96% of its 2026 attestation letters to public institutions, squeezing out language schools.
• Languages Canada wants at least 10% of language students enrolled in pathways within three to five years.

Background

Canada’s language education sector is rebuilding its pathway model after two years of sharp decline, with Languages Canada introducing the Joint Pathway Program to bring international students back into the system.

Pathway programmes, which combine language study with academic courses leading to a college or university degree, once made up 23% of all language enrolments in Canada. That figure has now dropped to the low single digits, following major immigration policy changes introduced in January 2024.

The decline began when Canada placed a cap on foreign student enrolments. The cap is managed through Provincial Attestation Letters, which provinces distribute among approved institutions. The problem is that most letters go to public colleges and universities. For example, 96% of the letters in Ontario in the year 2026 were addressed to public institutions, leaving language schools nearly out of breath.

Things became more difficult in November 2024 because of yet another revised rule. Students moving from one institution to another now need to apply for a new study permit, adding cost and uncertainty to the traditional pathway model.

In response, Languages Canada worked with immigration authorities to create a new solution. In November 2025, officials confirmed that language study could qualify as a joint programme under existing immigration rules. This allowed Languages Canada to design the Joint Pathway Program and launch a pilot in February 2026.

Under the new model, students study lower-level language courses at a private school before moving to a public institution, all under a single study permit. The public institution manages paperwork and compliance throughout.

Languages Canada announced the national rollout of the programme in March 2026, intending to place at least 10% of language students in pathways within three to five years.