New updates: What international students need to know about IRCC's recent changes?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), aiming to address the declining quality of education and the misuse of the educational system, has made significant changes regarding the number of student visa applications to be accepted, the PGWP (Post Graduate Work Permit) rights granted to students, and the spousal work permit.

For the year 2024, IRCC is limiting the number of new study permits to 360,000. This represents a 35% decrease compared to 2023.
Quotas will be applied based on the province where the applied school is located. These quotas will be determined according to the population of each province.
To implement these quotas, from January 22, 2024, each study permit application must include a commitment letter obtained from the province.
Provinces are expected to establish a system for issuing commitment letters to students by March 31, 2024. This may cause delays in processing ready applications.
EXEMPTION: Students currently in Canada with study permits and those renewing their permits will not be affected by these changes. Postgraduate and doctoral students, as well as primary and secondary school students, are exempt from these limitations.
NOTE: It is unclear whether approved study permit applicants who have not yet arrived in Canada or those with pending applications will be affected.
POST-GRADUATION: From September 1, 2024, international students starting an educational program under a curriculum license agreement will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit.
SPOUSES: In the coming weeks, open work permits for spouses will only be granted to the spouses of international students in postgraduate and doctoral programs. Spouses of international students in other levels of education, including undergraduate and college programs, will no longer be able to apply for an open work permit.
These temporary measures will be valid for two years and will end immediately after the next election date.