In 2011, Canada’s federal Economic Action Plan called for the launch of a new International Education Strategy and advisory panel to achieve the strategy.
This led to the unveiling of the International Education Strategy 2014-2019.
The headline objective of the strategy was to double Canada’s international student population to 450,000 people by 2019.
Shortly after the launch of the strategy in January 2014, I met with Global Affairs Canada officials in Ottawa who noted that achieving this goal would be a tall order with their shoestring budget of about $6 million annually, which was dwarfed by the amount of money being spent in peer countries such as Australia to promote international education.
All this to say, it was felt then that doubling Canada’s foreign student population was far from a foregone conclusion.
Canada ended up surpassing the goal two years ahead of schedule, in 2017. We have since gone on to more than double our 2017 population.
Today, Canada is home to nearly 1,050,000 international students.
Yes, you’ve read that right.
Canada has more than quadrupled its international student population since it initiated the strategy in 2011.
First, let’s look at the positives of this development. The last time Global Affairs Canada studied the topic, they concluded international students contributed over $22 billion to the economy and supported nearly 220,000 jobs in 2018. International students also enrich Canadian classrooms and strengthen Canada’s relationships with the rest of the world. They are excellent immigration candidates since they are young, well-educated, speak English and French, and have developed strong social and professional networks while living here.
Unfortunately, the positives have been dwarfed by the negatives in recent times. The significant rise in our international student population has led to a litany of integrity issues that have sadly come at the expense of international students themselves. These include abuse by unscrupulous actors both overseas and here in Canada who view international students as cash cows and cheap sources of labour.
This has resulted in widespread agreement that the status quo is untenable and action is needed to strengthen the integrity of the sector to provide international students with a better experience.
Following months of tough talk, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller dropped the hammer in December 2023 and January 2024. First, prior to Christmas, he more than doubled the cost-of-living requirement for international students to $20,635. To get their study visas, international students need to demonstrate to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) they have the financial means to support themselves in Canada. The previous amount of $10,000 had not been revised in about 20 years.
However, the bigger announcement came the following month when he capped international student permits issued at 364,000 for 2024, a decrease of about 35% compared to last year. A yet-to-be-determined cap will also be in place in 2025. The cap does not apply to master’s, doctoral, and elementary and secondary school international students.
The current situation has led to a lot of blame on who is responsible for getting us to this point.
Instead, I’d argue the focus should be on understanding the drivers of the integrity issues so we can address them and get our international student program to a healthier place.
The main reason Canada’s international student population has grown so rapidly is chronic underfunding by provinces for the higher education sector. Statistics Canada notes international student revenues have increased as Canadian student tuition has not kept up with inflation and provincial funding as a share of the higher education sector’s revenues has decreased. In other words, colleges and universities have had to increasingly turn to international students to keep their lights on.
Research also shows that most international students are motivated to pursue permanent residence following their studies in Canada. According to their 2023 annual survey, the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) puts this figure at about 60% of international students who want to remain here permanently.
Unfortunately for these foreign students, the math does not add up, as Canada simply does not have enough permanent residence spots available to all of them. But few have the courage to tell international students this. Consider that to this day, even after their recent measures, IRCC continues to encourage international students to “study, explore, work, and stay” in Canada.
In 2023, international students comprised about 20% of the over 470,000 individuals who gained permanent residence.
This means that most of the over 1 million international students currently in Canada will eventually need to leave the country even after having spent tens of thousands of dollars on tuition and living expenses here hoping to strengthen their permanent residence odds.
So, how can we get ourselves to a healthier place?
First, the federal and provincial governments need to work together to better ensure financial sustainability for the higher education sector. This is the most important part of the equation and resolving this issue will resolve a lot of the international student integrity issues.
Second, the federal government needs to lead efforts to be more transparent with international students about their permanent residence prospects here. International students need to clearly understand before they even submit their study visa applications that Canada’s immigration system is very competitive and transitioning from temporary to permanent residence is not a guarantee. In fact, in recent months, Express Entry candidates have needed Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of above 530 points to receive permanent residence invitations in “General” draws. This is an extremely high threshold that very few Express Entry candidates are able to achieve. IRCC data indicates only about 5% of Express Entry candidates have a CRS score above 500 points. Equipped with these insights, prospective international students can then make informed decisions about whether they want to try their luck in Canada anyway.
Third, just like we did in 2011, we need to launch a national dialogue comprised of experts from across sectors who can help us create a new International Education Strategy that enables us to better welcome international students and provide them with a great experience in Canada. The current strategy expires later this month, on March 31, 2024, and Global Affairs Canada engaged in consultations last year to inform the next version of the strategy. However, given all that has transpired in recent months, perhaps we may wish to go back to the drawing board to ensure the new strategy reflects the latest conditions on the ground. Canada is equipped with many experts from both the public and private sectors that together can help us form a new International Education Strategy to be proud of.