At Languages Canada’s recent annual conference in Calgary, executive director Gonzalo Peralta described a sector that has seen long‑standing language programs at both public and private institutions shut their doors, but is now beginning to rediscover its sense of direction.
“People actually came away excited,” he said. “There was a sense of, ‘we can do this.’ There’s a sense of hope.”
The conference itself was deliberately framed around innovation, collaboration and business development, and notably kept political figures off the stage.
The Joint Pathway Program (JPP) – a structured, IRCC policy‑aligned framework that brings together accredited private language schools and post-secondary institutions to support seamless student transition – sat at the centre of discussions.
In late 2024, a regulation requiring two separate study permits for students attending two institutions – for example, a language school followed by a college or university – was announced, and implemented in 2025. For Canada’s pathway‑driven language sector, the impact was immediate.
Peralta argues that a major part of the sector’s recent pain has come from how immigration rules have been implemented: “The common theme of all the policies and regulations that have come out of Canada in terms of immigration… the consensus is that intention is good. In fact, the how is completely wrong,” he said.
“It basically was a regulation that destroyed pathway programs in Canada,” said Peralta.
“We advised the government of what this would do, and it did what we predicted,” he added, pointing to a recent Auditor General’s report that blasted the government for its implementation of changes to the International Student Program (ISP).
While the regulation itself has not been reversed, federal officials eventually acknowledged that a solution was needed and offered what Peralta calls a “technical solution” and a way to create joint credentials recognised within the current rules.
“The solution that came out was a joint credential, which we call the Joint Pathway Program, which the private sector institution collaborates in partnership with a public sector institution to create a joint language credential, which then gives a seamless access to the academic stream of the university or college.”
Initially, a handful of early adopters came on board. Now, the model is spreading across the country. “It’s not just in Ontario anymore. It’s also British Columbia. It’s been taken up in Alberta and in Nova Scotia,” he said.
In order to be successful, you need to accept that the past is gone… This is true innovation
Gonzalo Peralta, Languages Canada
“In order to be successful, you need to accept that the past is gone… This is true innovation,” said Peralta.
For language programs inside universities and colleges, Peralta believes the program can be transformational.
“All of a sudden they are the ones that are bringing in not just more students, but the best students, the best prepared students,” he said. “And so it’s a great new moment for the sector.”
To illustrate how much has changed, Peralta looks back to 2019 when almost a third of all language students in Canada came for pathways. “That has been decimated,” said Peralta.
“Our objective in the next three to five years is to ensure that at least 10% of all language students coming to Canada are on pathways,” Peralta explained. “With the numbers we have right now, that would equal 9,000 students, but I expect, and I hope it will be higher than that.”
The Joint Pathway Program is being structured to work within Canada’s Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) system, which caps international enrolment by province and institution.
“The desire to come to Canada by students and their families is incredibly strong,” said Peralta. “However, our partners abroad, like for example agencies, they’ve been burned, and so our job is to rebuild that trust.”
“That’s why proof of concept is important,” he said. “That’s why this pilot of the JPP is to rebuild trust. And we’re not going to do it overnight.”
