Three Nova Scotia universities are facing what could be a substantial cut in the number of international students they will welcome this year — Cape Breton University (CBU), Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) and Université Ste-Anne.

That's because the federal government has limited the province to about 13,000 international study permit applications in 2024, about 6,000 fewer than were submitted for the academic year that started last September. Previously there was no limit on international…