The federal government is studying a cap on the number of international students to ease the pressure on the housing market, said the minister currently tasked with addressing the housing crisis in Canada.

"I think this is one of the options we should consider," said Federal Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Minister Sean Fraser to reporters during a Liberal Cabinet meeting in Charlottetown on Monday.

He added, "I think we need to do some serious thinking here."

Canada hosted more than 800,000 foreign students last year, according to government figures.

Fraser - who was immigration minister until last month's cabinet shuffle - said he plans to sit down with post-secondary institutions to see what can be done to make it easier for these students to find living space in the tight rental market.

He also stated that if they continue to bring in record numbers of students, they will also be part of the solution by ensuring they have places to live.

He continued, "When you see some of these institutions that have five or six times the number of students enrolled than they have spaces for in the building... you have to start asking yourself some hard questions."

Tackling the housing crisis is one of the main goals of the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as it comes together in a retreat before Parliament returns next month.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada needs to build 5.8 million new homes – including two million housing units – by 2030 to address housing affordability.

Fraser warned against blaming new immigrants for the lack of affordable housing, adding, "Let’s look at the real reason for the challenges we are facing, and recognize that immigration can actually be used as a tool to bring in the workers we need to build more homes."

On the other hand, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of doing exactly that during his media appearance in Ottawa on Monday, claiming he wants Canadians to forget all of this and blame immigrants, and that he wants to divide people to distract from his failures.

But Trudeau defended his government’s immigration policies when reporters asked him on Monday morning whether the housing supply in Canada can keep up with the rapid population growth. He said, "Yes, there is a lot that we need to do regarding housing, and we continue to ramp up investments and record partnerships with municipalities and provinces, but we will continue to be the open, welcoming, thriving, and growing country we have always been because that has led to great opportunities and prosperity for all Canadians."