International students are increasingly at risk of being victimized by human traffickers while studying in Canada, a southern Ontario mayor says.

Brampton, a city located less than an hour north of Toronto, is home to thousands of foreign students many of whom face financial challenges, Mayor Patrick Brown said during an Oct. 23 press conference. Housing insecurity and a lack of adequate institutional support make the students prime targets for exploitation and trafficking, he said.

“Today, the City of Brampton is saying very clearly, we want to zone in on this cancer within our society and our country to combat human trafficking,” Brown said. “It happens in plain sight and obviously, here in Peel region, we are more vulnerable with the International Airport, with major highways … we are at a nexus point for this cancer within our society.”

Female students in particular are being exploited by predatory landlords and traffickers, leading to cases of unwanted pregnancies, mental health crises, and even suicide, the city said in a press release.

Peel Regional Police has charged 168 people with 666 human trafficking-related charges since 2020, Brown saidnoting there is “significant under reporting.”

“Looking at the number of investigations, those numbers are staggering, especially knowing that they’re only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is reported,” he said.

Human trafficking is an issue that Brampton is not equipped to handle alone, Brown said. The mayor is urging the federal and provincial governments to do more to combat human trafficking both in Brampton and Canada as a whole.

Brown noted that Ottawa determines the annual allocation of study permits, while the provinces are responsible for accrediting post-secondary institutions that attract foreign students. Issues like human trafficking “ultimately falls in the laps of municipalities,” he said.

Call for a Joint Approach

The city has adopted a motion put forward by regional councilor Rowena Santos that calls for integrated services backed by all levels of government to tackle the human trafficking and exploitation of international students both in Brampton and across Canada.

Her motion calls for improvements to the Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program to better protect international students, raise awareness about human trafficking, and address illegal practices within the rental market.

Employment opportunities is one key area that needs to change, Santos said. She argued current restrictions on work hours “push international students into unsafe, illegal employment, putting them at greater risk of exploitation.” She also called for stronger protections against deportation threats, particularly for those coerced into the sex trade.

“We stand united in denouncing the exploitation and trafficking of international students, particularly the young women who come here with dreams of a better future, only to be met with unimaginable hardship,” Santos said. “This exploitation is unacceptable in Brampton and in our country, and it must end.”

Growing Foreign Student Numbers

The federal government has faced criticism from Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM), saying municipalities were not given additional supports to deal with the increased demand for housing and social services amid surging numbers of newcomers to Canada.

Canadian universities accepted a record 1,040,000 international students in 2023, a 29 percent increase over 2022. More than 500,000 of those students came to Ontario, and Brampton is home to tens of thousands of foreign students, many of whom come from India, Brown said.

In September, the federal government announced plans to cut the number of international student permits it will grant for 2025 and 2026. The new target for international student permits will be reduced to 437,000 for 2025 and 2026, down from the 485,000 permits handed out in 2024, Immigration Canada announced on Sept. 18.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller told a Sept. 18 press conference that the government had “allowed certain aspects of this to get overheated and probably for too long.” He noted there was “more than anecdotal evidence” that the number of international students had negatively impacted rental markets in several cities.

The federal cap seeks to lower the number of temporary residents in Canada from 6.5 percent of the total population to 5 percent by 2026, the ministry said. The cap is expected to help address the challenges arising from rapid population growth and the corresponding strain on housing supply.

Miller has said the cap needs to be coupled with universities and colleges addressing lax recruiting and admitting practices so it can’t be used as a “backdoor entry into Canada.”

Santos also wants to see colleges and universities make changes, which are laid out in Brampton’s International Students Charter.

She said the city is asking the federal and provincial governments, as well as post-secondary institutions across Ontario to endorse the charter, a document that “sets out clear responsibilities for institutions to offer comprehensive orientation and support services.” Those services include supports for students with housing, employment, and mental health services while actively preventing exploitation.