Canada aims to attract greater numbers of international students.
Canada is a highly desirable destination for international students.
India and China students received 54.1% of the 356,035 study permits issued by the Canada government to international postsecondary students in 2022. In 2022, more than 800,000 Canadas will hold a study permit.
Over 807,000 international students possessed a valid Canada student visa in 2022. Let’s examine how this compares to previous years.
In 2022, the number of Canada study permit bearers surpassed the 2019 record by 27%. In addition, the total for 2022 is virtually identical to the trend line from 2017 to 2019. This demonstrates that the pandemic caused two years of inflated permit holder data.
Interest among international students in a Canada education has never been higher. In 2021, the Canada government processed a record number of study permit applications, 30% more than in 2019. Meanwhile, Canada is on schedule to establish a new processing record for student visas in 2022.
Canada's largest international student populations
Let’s examine how the international student population in Canada has changed over the past six years.
In 2022, over 319,000 Indian students held valid Canada study permits, a 46% increase from 2019. To put this into perspective, no other student population has ever surpassed the threshold of 200,000, let alone 300,000. Indian students accounted for 40 percent of all student visas issued by Canada last year. This was a six percentage point increase compared to 2019.
As Canada seeks to diversify its international education sector by 2024, let’s examine some of the fastest-growing student populations.
In 2022, there will be more than four times as many Filipinos with a Canada student visa compared to 2019, and the majority of these will be mature students. In 2018, the Philippines became Canada’s third-greatest source market, a rise of ten spots from 2019. In this time period, the number of students in Nigeria has nearly doubled, and no country has grown quicker than Nepal. In recent years, approval rates for all three nations have increased.
Hong Kong and Ukraine’s presence on this list speaks volumes about the positive impact innovative, targeted policies can have on the international education sector. Canada implemented new immigration measures supporting Hong Kong residents in November 2020, including expedited processing of study permit applications. In addition, Canada announced a new study permit pathway for Ukrainians in March 2022. After the swift implementation of these new policies, the number of students from both markets holding a legitimate Canada study permit increased approximately threefold from 2019 levels.
K-12 and postsecondary education are on the rise.
Now that we know where the students are coming from, let’s examine what levels of education they are pursuing in Canada:
In 2022, over 651,000 international students held student visas for postsecondary study in Canada. This represents a 31% increase over 2019. In 2022, 81 percent of all valid study permits were issued for postsecondary education, an increase of three percentage points from 2019.
K–12 educations was sluggish to recover from the pandemic, but in 2022 it experienced the greatest year-over-year growth. The nearly 92,000 student visas held for this level of study exceeded 2021 by 34% and exceeded 2019 by 13%.
Every Canada province has grown since 2019.
Let’s examine where international students opt to study in Canada:
Each Canada province has increased the number of student visa holders since 2019. Atlantic Canada accounted for three of the six provinces with the highest growth rates during this period, with New Brunswick’s 66% growth being the highest.
Ontario has always been Canada’s most populous province, but in 2022, for the first time ever, it accounted for more than half of all international students. Quebec and Ontario were the only two provinces in 2022 where less than 10% of all study permit holders were K–12 students.
Source: International Education Division, Government of Canada
As part of Building on Success: International Education Strategy (2019–2024), the Canada government seeks to diversify the education sector, promote global relations, boost innovation capacity, and foster a thriving Canada economy.
The strategy will also ensure that the Canada labour force possesses the requisite aptitudes and skills to enable the country to effectively compete on international markets.
Creating jobs for the middle class and fostering prosperity in all of Canada’s communities are also on the agenda.
Provinces, territories, and stakeholders must collaborate, support, and complement one another in order to achieve the collective goal of a prosperous and sustainable international education sector in Canada.
According to James Gordon Card, Minister of International Trade Diversification, “international education is an essential pillar of Canada’s long-term competitiveness.” According to the Minister, international students who decide to study abroad are exposed to new ideas and cultures, which fosters innovation and a wide range of cross-cultural competencies.
In 2018, international students in Canada are estimated to have contributed approximately CAD 21.6 billion to the Canada economy and supported approximately 170,000 middle-class jobs.
Education abroad does offer numerous long-term benefits. When international students decide to immigrate upon completion of their studies, they contribute to the economic success of the nation.
The new International Education Strategy for Canada will receive CAD 147.9 million over five years, then CAD 8 million each year after that.
The new International Education Strategy aims to increase the number of countries from which international students migrate to Canada. It is also necessary to diversify the disciplines of study, the location of study, and the level of study in Canada while encouraging Canada students to acquire new skills by studying and working abroad in key global markets, particularly Asia.
Increasing support for Canada educational institutions to assist them in expanding their export services and exploring new global opportunities
The minister asserts that “building on success is our future blueprint.” This new strategy is a fundamental part of Canada’s Trade Diversification Strategy: New Markets, New Customers, and New Jobs.
Canada has, so to speak, stepped up its game with its recent initiatives in international education.
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