Dal’s total enrolment holds steady from last year, international enrolment plummets

Dalhousie University’s 2026-27 full-time enrolment grew by four students compared to last year, despite an 18 per cent drop in international student attendance. 

According to preliminary data from the Association of Atlantic Universities, 18,902 full-time students are currently enrolled at Dal. 2,220 of those students are international, down from 2,713 last October.

The 493-student decrease comes after decreases of more than 700 international students in both 2024-25 and 2025-26, as increased federal visa caps restricted attendance.

Read more: International enrolment continues to decline, putting financial strain on Dalhousie

Compared to the university’s internal forecast from April, the report’s numbers show a loss of 310 more international students than Dal had projected. That increased loss could cost the university around $7.7 million in tuition revenue. 

Dalhousie University did not respond to the Dalhousie Gazette’s request for comment prior to publication.

A growth in new domestic students — the 2026-27 first-year cohort is the largest since the association began tracking the data in 2000. — helps make up for the loss in international student headcount, but cannot make up for the revenue lost from the much-higher tuition international students pay.

Dal currently faces a $14.1 million deficit for the 2026-27 year, which the university attributes partly to declining international enrolment.

Read more: Tuition for new international students nearly $40k after another increase 

Including full-time and part-time students, Dal has 21,345 total students, roughly equal to the enrolment Dal predicted in its April 2026-27 budget.

The report also says Dal currently has 15,058 full-time undergraduate students, a 0.8 per cent increase from last year, and 3,844 full-time graduate students, a three per cent decrease.

Dal will release its own annual enrolment report, which also breaks down enrolment by faculty, on Dec. 1.

SUB: Dal outperforms other N.S. universities

Only four universities in Nova Scotia increased their enrolment from last October, according to the report: Dal, up 0.5 per cent; NSCAD University, up 1.5 per cent; Université Sainte-Anne, up 17.7 per cent, and St. Francis Xavier University, which increased by one student.

Nova Scotia’s six other universities all declined, with the province’s total student body down 1,544 students, or 3.3 per cent. Cape Breton University saw the steepest decline, dropping 25 per cent.

In the rest of Atlantic Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island both saw a decrease in enrolment. Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s four universities all increased or remained unchanged. Atlantic Canada’s total enrolment dropped 1,562 students, or 1.7 per cent.