International students are protesting and have organized sit-ins to oppose the unfair rejection of PGWPs. There was a mass assembly at Portage College, a march in heavy rain in Edmonton, and an ongoing 24/7 sit-in in Calgary.
This is happening amid a federal and provincial crackdown on immigration to scapegoat and offload the crisis of capitalism onto vulnerable sectors of society.
IRCC rejected PGWPs for students who completed their diploma, citing the programs as “non-credit” despite these programs were marketed as credit-based. IRCC changed eligibility rules after they had already applied. The June 2026 edits to IRCC’s PGWP webpage were never announced as a policy change. IRCC claims it was simply a clarification of an “existing requirement.”
Students enrolled in 2023 and 2024 believing their programs were eligible. Not until June 2026 did IRCC update its webpage to state that “non-credit” programs are ineligible, after students had already committed their time and money.
Nearly 700 graduates have received rejections, affecting an estimated 480 graduates of Portage College partner programs. Many now face a 15-day window to file for judicial review.
International students pay on average five times more than domestic students. The government has justified this crackdown as targeting “diploma mills,” but the government long knew about it.
Under a workers’ democracy where education cannot be used as a money-making scheme, where education is free for all, regardless of where a person is from, legitimacy cannot be dictated on whatever is beneficial for profit but on the needs of society and the students and workers themselves. There is more than enough wealth in society to provide decent homes, good jobs, and free education for everyone. The parasitic ruling class has once again clearly shown who are the real culprits in society.
