Canadians’ future at Harvard in question after Trump bans international students

Hundreds of Canadians could potentially be caught up in the ongoing fight between U.S. President Donald Trump and Harvard University over international student enrollment.

The school did not immediately have a current count of Canadians studying there, but numbers on its website from 2022 show there were 686 enrolled at that time.

Harvard University filed a lawsuit Friday morning in federal court in Boston challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, describing the move as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.

Hours later, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s effort from moving forward.

Harvard enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students from more than 100 countries at its campus in Cambridge, Mass.

The university said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an immediate and devastating effect on more than 7,000 student visa holders at the school.

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard said in its suit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

The department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

— With files from the Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.

The Canadian Press