According to Global Affairs Canada, international students contributed over $22 billion to Canada’s economy and supported over 218,000 jobs in 2018. IRCC also notes that international students bring benefits such as new cultures, ideas, and competencies to Canada’s landscape while enriching the academic experience of domestic students. Therefore, It should come as no surprise that international students are beneficial to Canada’s economy. International students pay significantly higher tuition than Canadian students, resulting in post-secondary institutions relying on them to offset stagnant government funding.
Despite these benefits, international students face numerous challenges and have even recently been thrust into a national debate on housing supply and affordability. While some have blamed international students for driving up rents and reducing the availability of affordable housing for Canadians, it is important to recognize that international students are also the victims of limited and often unsuitable housing. This is just one challenge faced by international students. Others include:
High tuition (typically, five times more than domestic students);
Education agents who falsify documentation or refer international students to programs that are ineligible for a PGWP, thereby denying international students the ability to work in Canada and immigrate following graduation;
Empty promises by private colleges and agents about promising career prospects in Canada upon graduating from the colleges lies from agents about PGWP and immigration eligibility, and even misleading information from the colleges themselves about matters such as the ability to transfer to public colleges and the requirement to pay tuition in full even if students decide to withdraw from the private colleges;
Sexual abuse. A survey by McGill University found nearly 39% of international students experienced sexual harassment and almost 24% experienced sexual assault.
Exploitation by employers who pay international students below minimum wage or not at all. Some international students also report being subjected to sexual abuse by employers.
The Canadian government issuing far more study permits than there are available permanent resident spots, including perpetuating an inflated sense of hope among international students motivated to gain permanent residence.
Canada’s Senate Report
Four members of Canada’s Senate released a report on September 20, 2023, outlining how the integrity of the country’s international student program can be strengthened. The suggestions include:
1. Federal, provincial, and territorial areas of action:
Conduct a national review of the financial sustainability of DLIs: This entails promoting a national dialogue to ensure the Canadian post-secondary sector is able to financially sustain itself moving forward. While international student tuition has proven to be a stopgap measure, the reliance on it leaves the post-secondary sector extremely vulnerable. Moreover, diplomatic disputes between Canada and top international student source countries could also leave Canada compromised. A dispute with India or China, for instance, could prove devastating for Canadian DLIs.
Greater oversight on DLIs, including private colleges, to promote a better international student experience: Such oversight can enhance a “positive on- and off-campus experience” for International Students, resulting in pro-student policies like a requirement for DLIs to demonstrate how they will help international students find housing and employment; address other settlement challenges like mental health; and educating international students about their legal rights in Canada on matters such as housing, employment, and criminal law (e.g., as a means to protect students from sexual abuse). Consequently, DLIs who do not live up to standard should be subject to losing their ability to welcome additional international students.
Improve awareness among international students enrolling in programs ineligible for a PGWP: Given the strong motivation among international students to obtain PGWPs and permanent residence, greater effort is required to inform those who enroll in programs ineligible for a PGWP. This can be addressed by both the DLIs and IRCC sharing responsibility for communicating with the international students directly so that students make informed decisions. For example, DLIs, including private colleges, could be required to include in their Letters of Admission (LOA) that a given program is ineligible for a PGWP and document proof that they directly communicated this to the prospective international student.
Housing supply for international students: The starting point in addressing the housing implications of international foreign students is the financial sustainability of colleges and universities. It is therefore imperative that a national dialogue on this issue take place as soon as possible. The federal government should be more active in the housing space to ensure there is an adequate supply of accommodation options, including including:
Gathering federal data about student housing is crucial for making well-informed choices.
Under the National Housing Strategy, creating a dedicated funding stream for post-secondary institutions to build affordable housing options for students.
Incentivizing the development of student housing facilities.
Housing supports, employment, and sexual abuse: better inform international students about their legal rights and recourse available to them: The Canadian government and DLIs, both need to do a better job of informing international students of their rights when it comes to housing, employment, and sexual abuse. A lot of these indiscretions occur and go unreported due to a lack of understanding. Informing students of their rights and what they can do if they are a victim of these issues will help mitigate these issues in the future. IRCC and the provinces and territories should also supplement these efforts via a combination of information on their websites, guides, emails, and social media campaigns. Also, the two levels of government can have a presence at Canada’s major airports in the weeks leading up to the three major enrollment cycles each year (January, May, and September).
Develop a national policy strategy on TR to PR pathways: Canada currently does not have a national strategy for facilitating TR to PR transitions. Developing one can help to limit disappointment among international students and help better inform them that there are limited permanent residence spots available and they need to carefully consider their options before pursuing an education pathway to PR. Not only would such a strategy help address international student program integrity issues, it would also help identify how the international student program can be better aligned with the needs of provinces and territories, DLIs, and employers, among others.
Develop a national policy strategy on international student settlement support: Similar to the previous suggestion, Canada would benefit from developing a national settlement strategy for international students. IRCC spends some $2 billion annually on settlement and integration supports nationally, predominantly available to permanent residents, and not temporary resident cohorts like international students. The benefits of developing a national settlement strategy include providing better care and a more positive experience to international students, helping address the abuses highlighted above, and better educating and preparing international students for life in Canada as permanent residents.
2. Federal areas of action:
Explore creating a national language standard for DLI admission criteria: It may be beneficial for IRCC, and provinces, and territories to explore creating a national language standard for DLI admission criteria, like the IRCC requirement of at least a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 to obtain IRCC approval. This policy ensures economic class immigrants have sufficient language skills to successfully settle in Canada. Welcoming international students with weak credentials sets them up for failure in Canada, leaves them vulnerable to exploitation by landlords, and employers, and affects the academic experience of Canadian students.
Strengthen the Letters of Admission (LOA) verification process: To avoid instances such as of the Toronto Star story of some 700 Indian students facing deportation due to forged LOAs, IRCC needs to strengthen the LOA verification process. This entails confirming with DLIs that each LOA that has been included with a study permit application was in fact issued by the DLI. This would strengthen the integrity of the international student program and also save trouble and resources down the line, such as IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) then needing to spend precious resources on court proceedings and deportations.
Reform the IRPA and IRPR to better regulate the conduct of education agents, and introduce other federal oversight measures: The federal government should consult with key stakeholders on what reforms it can introduce to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to regulate the conduct of overseas education agents and post-secondary institutions that take advantage of unsuspecting and desperate students. Stronger penalties, such as fines and the revocation of DLI status should be considered for those who violate new policy measures after the reform of IRPA and Canada’s IRPR.
3. Provincial and territorial recommendations:
Explore more regulations on international student tuition: Introducing lower caps to international student tuition hikes likely needs to be part of a broader conversation on ensuring provincial/territorial funding to DLIs and Canadian student tuition is keeping up with rising operating costs and inflation.
Introduce more regulations on education age: Provinces and territories also need to introduce more regulations on agents. Manitoba is the only province that regulates international student recruiters. Manitoba’s International Education Act (IEA) has two purposes: protecting international students from potential fraud and negligence and promoting the province’s reputation as a high-quality destination for international students by providing a measure of quality assurance. Manitoba has a suite of measures in its IEA that can serve as best practice for other provinces and territories to better regulate agent and DLI behavior, including fines (ranging from $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for corporations) and a code of practice and conduct.
What next?
International students are major assets to Canada economically, socially, and culturally. Most transition to permanent residents after their studies and are able to build a successful future in Canada. At InfoPlace Canada, we strive to ensure our international student clients are well-positioned to succeed in Canada. We offer various services to meet international student needs, including a PR and study consultation, which helps us craft an immigration strategy that will work for you and help set you on the right path.