Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller said that Canada has welcomed 900,000 foreign students this year, a number unprecedented in the country's history, nearly three times the number of those who entered the country ten years ago.

Miller added in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that his country is concerned about the integrity of the education system that hundreds of thousands of foreign students benefit from, in addition to the additional pressure these students place on the housing crisis.

Miller also noted that the university system that attracts foreign students to Canada is “very profitable but comes with some harmful effects and some fraud in the system. Some individuals exploit what is seen as a backdoor to enter Canada.”

He said that both private and public universities generate annual revenues ranging from 20 to 30 billion Canadian dollars (14.7 to 22.1 billion dollars) paid by those coming to study from abroad.

Miller added, “Some are making a lot of money legitimately, while others are manipulating the system, and my main concern is the integrity of the system.”

Miller said that his concern is not about public universities but primarily about private colleges, which have increased in number recently in various parts of Canada.

Canada is an attractive destination for foreign students and is characterized by relative ease in obtaining work permits.

The opposition Conservative Party has repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government for failing to address the housing crisis.

The Minister of Housing also said earlier that the government is considering placing a cap on the number of students allowed to enter Canada each year as a means to alleviate the housing crisis, but Miller cast doubt on the feasibility of that.

Miller stated, “Imposing a strict cap, which has received a lot of attention in recent days, is not the only solution.”