CBU hit with another drop in undergraduate enrolment, survey reveals

While more than 400 additional first-year undergraduate students are choosing to study at universities in Atlantic Canada in the 2026-27 academic year, Cape Breton University continues to face a major challenge of reaching enrolment numbers it previously achieved several years ago.

According to figures from a just-released Association of Atlantic Universities’ (AAU) 2026–27 Survey of Preliminary Enrolments, as of Oct. 1 of this year, 2,668 undergraduate students were enrolled at the Sydney-area university.

That number dropped 30.7 per cent (or by 1,181) from 3,849 undergrads who enrolled up to Oct. 1, 2025, survey data noted.

Several years back, CBU reached an enrolment peak of 9,100 students, largely due to an influx of international students applying to the university.

But by late 2024, when the federal government agency Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began implementing new policies on study and work permits for international students, the changes led to dramatic declines in international student enrolment — particularly at CBU.

The 3,849 undergrads registered after the start of the 2025-26 school year marked a dramatic 3,299 decline from its 2024-25 enrolment of 7,148. That was preceded by a decrease of 1,139 from the 2023-24 academic year, when 8,287 undergrad students were enrolled.

On the plus side for CBU, the university has enrolled 413 graduate students as of Oct. 1, according to the AAU survey. That marks a 9.5 per cent rise, or 36 more students, compared to the same date in 2025.

The AAU survey also explains that as of Oct. 1 of this year, there has been an overall 3.4 per cent increase in full-time, first-year students — meaning, an additional 451 students — compared with enrolment numbers the same time last year.

In Nova Scotia, the increases mentioned in the report apply to post-secondary institutions such as Dalhousie and St. Francis Xavier universities, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), the Atlantic School of Theology and Université Sainte-Anne.

“These numbers reflect a strong vote of confidence by Canadian students in the value of Atlantic Canadian universities. We are delighted that our universities continue to attract students from both within Atlantic Canada and the rest of Canada,” AAU chair and St. FX president Dr. Andrew Hakin said in a statement.

However, along with Cape Breton University, the report also shows enrolment decreases for Mount Saint Vincent, Saint Mary’s, the University of King’s College and Acadia.

Earlier this year, after CBU’s board of governors approved the university’s 2026-27 budget, the post-secondary insitution noted that it had to revise its enrolment target to “approximately 3,500 students” and took steps “to align operations with (its) new reality.”

“Over a three‑year period ending March 2027, the combined impact of enrolment decline and the loss of previously successful post‑baccalaureate programs has resulted in an estimated $77-million reduction in revenue,” CBU explained in an April 27 campus news announcement.

These declines in enrolment have not been sitting well with CBU president and vice-chancellor David Dingwall, who has long credited international student enrolments as a major factor in transforming the post-secondary institution and, in turn, boosting Cape Breton’s economy.

“International students are so important,” Dingwall wrote in a recent opinion piece published in the Cape Breton Post.

“They bring skills, talent, and ambition, and many choose to stay after graduation. They become health-care professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, engineers and technology leaders who strengthen our communities and help meet critical workforce needs.

“When they choose to build their lives here after graduation, our communities become stronger, our workforce grows, and our economy benefits.”

The AAU also shared Dingwall’s concerns.

It noted in a recent news release that enrolment at several Atlantic Canadian universities fell by 3,020 international students, or another 18 per cent, bringing the overall drop in international student enrolment to nearly 48 per cent since new federal restrictions were put in place in January 2024, far exceeding the federal target of 35 per cent.

The report mentioned that these measures included imposing caps on enrolment, doubling the required proof of funds and tightening work restrictions.

“The federal government made a national decision that has disproportionately hurt Atlantic Canada,” Hakin said in a statement.

“Atlantic Canada’s universities continue to communicate our serious concerns about federal policies affecting international students to Canada’s minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Atlantic Canadian MPs and senators.

“Building Canada Strong must include Atlantic Canadian universities that are strong, vibrant and connected to the world.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Atlantic Universities also noted that Canada’s auditor general found in March 2026 that smaller provinces were challenged by the international student reforms and that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not know why study visa approval rates for the smaller provinces were lower than projected.

“According to the recent Atlantic Economic Panel Report, Atlantic Canada is fighting an aging workforce and a negative natural population growth. The Public Policy Forum projects a workforce supply gap of 269,000 workers in Atlantic Canada by 2035,” the AAU said in a news release.

“International students who graduate from universities fluent in English and/or French and are looking for work in the communities where they lived while studying are a part of the solution to this problem.”

— With files from Nicole Sullivan