The International Student Boom Might Be Over

“Students are the victims, not the problem…it's the government that has failed at multiple levels, including the housing one.”

Kuwarjeet Singh Arora 
February 15, 2024 | 15 min. read | Original Reporting

Between large protests at post-secondary institutions and major government policy changes this past month, international students, and various community leaders working with them, feel Canada has entered a new phase - the end of the international student boom. Particularly as it concerns those coming from India - the biggest group of which are students from Punjab. 

Approximately 40 per cent of the over 800,000 international students in Canada hail from India, as reported by the Canadian Bureau for International Education. Indian students constitute the largest individual cohort in Canadian schools, surpassing China at approximately 12 per cent and the Philippines at four per cent. 

Job availability, affordable housing, and healthcare capacity have all become a growing concern, as students struggle to make ends meet while paying high tuition fees, many to private colleges which are widely regarded as poor quality and have significantly increased their intakes with little in terms of services.

Students from India have also faced issues around dubious agents misleading them, often redirecting them to private career colleges that pay lucrative agent commissions, leading to visa problems and deportation orders. 

Even for students that study in reputable colleges, they still often experience academic issues, face exploitative employment practices, and culture shock, usually without any local family or institutional support networks to guide them. 

All of which is causing concerns about the sustainability and integrity of the post-secondary educational system in Canada. 

New Federal and Provincial Government Measures

On January 29, 2024, British Columbia (BC) announced it is enhancing quality standards for international education to eliminate exploitative practices and improve post-secondary education.

The measures announced by Selina Robinson, the then Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills of British Columbia, include a two-year pause on approving new institutions enrolling international students, compliance inspections for private institutions, higher standards for private degree programs, new language requirements, and tuition transparency. The province says it is working with stakeholders to eliminate exploitative practices and enhance the quality of education for international students.

The BC changes come on the heels of new temporary federal measures and limits on international student enrollment. Marc Miller, Immigration Minister of Canada, announced a series of measures on January 22, 2024. It is believed other provinces are considering local reforms as well, as municipalities with large student populations, like Brampton, raise concerns about resource issues in supporting students. 

These measures are said to be aimed at reducing the strain on services like housing and healthcare caused by the arrival of a large number of international students. The lack of job opportunities for students in the current economic climate only works to exacerbate the issues. 

“The biggest impact on [international students’] mental health is economic and financial reasons. From the last two years, there have not been that many jobs in the economy, and students are one of the populations that are suffering a lot through this,” Jaspreet Singh, founder of the International Sikh Student Association (ISSA) and Board Member of the World Sikh Organization (WSO), explains.

The Canadian government is implementing a cap on international student permit applications for two years, with an expected approval of approximately 360,000 study permits in 2024—a 35 per cent decrease from 2023.

Previously, study permits were issued to qualified candidates who had a letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution without any limit on the number that could be issued every year.

The new system for granting study permits in Canada will allocate a fixed number of permits to each province, based on the proportion of its population, as well. For example, Ontario, which has the largest number of international students, may experience a reduction of up to 50 per cent. This system will remain in place for two years, after which it will be reviewed and re-assessed. 

In the meantime, the Canadian government will work with provinces, territories, and national education stakeholders to develop a sustainable long-term path forward for international students. Both Ontario and British Columbia confirmed that they will cooperate with the federal government. 

"Through the measures that have been announced today, we are striking the right balance for Canada and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system while setting students up for the success they hope for," Miller said at a press conference at the time.

Jashandeep Brar is a co-founder of Team We Care Canada, a national initiative based in Surrey, British Columbia that helps international students with resumes, job searches, and finding co-op accommodations. 

"By implementing a cap, we will see some sort of results. It remains to be seen whether these results will be good or bad, but it will likely take a couple of years to fully showcase them,” he said, noting that the financial stability of numerous postsecondary institutions now relies heavily on international student tuition fees, which significantly exceeds the fees charged to domestic Canadian students.

Student Narrative and the “Edugration” Boom

These announcements will also inevitably set a new negative tone about international students, many feel in the community. They worry that students will be seen not as victims of multiple layers of exploitation, but rather as the cause of larger societal issues and government policy failures. 

“[T]here is the need to set a [mainstream] narrative for international students because, at the time when we started [the organization], there was a narrative in the media, especially the Punjabi media, that international students should be thrown out,” Brar shares. 

For many international students, pursuing higher education in Canada is a cherished dream which eventually leads to permanent residency and then citizenship. But, that journey proves difficult and costly.

Students from Punjab, often in their late teens, face significant challenges even before reaching Canada. Their parents may have sold family assets, remortgaged land, or accrued substantial debt to fund their child's education in Canada. All with a hope of settling in a new country with better opportunities than India. 

Canada has been more than happy to facilitate those dreams and pathways, leaning into a concept known as “edugration.” 

Edugration is the “recruitment and retention of post-secondary international students as ‘skilled’ immigrants.” This philosophy “has become a distinct form of immigration, shifting the role of higher education in society.” 

And while the Canadian government and Canadian post-secondary institutions have actively recruited and attracted students from abroad, particularly from India in recent years, the era of the edugration boom as we know it may be coming to an end.

Lisa Brunner, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia and Roopa Desai Trilokekar, an associate professor in the faculty of education at York University, write in a recent University Affairs article that "for decades the federal government has used international students as solutions to multiple policy problems – especially labour market and economic immigrant shortages – until international students suddenly became, in their eyes, the problem.”

Political pressure is mounting, as more Canadians connect housing and education pressures with growing immigration - much of which is being driven by edugration policies.

What is being missed, activists share, is that students are feeling these pressures as well, and their needs, including mental health, are going unaddressed by governments and institutions. 

Rattandeep Singh, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant at Visa Insights Immigration Service shared that "it's crucial to consider that we've witnessed numerous instances of students who transition directly from high school. Adjusting to such a demanding environment can be incredibly challenging for them.” 

Due to academic rigour, cultural adjustments, and financial pressures, stress-related mental health issues are prevalent among students. The recent stigma being associated with them doesn’t help.

Khalsa Aid Canada partners with different organizations around Canada to provide support and advocacy for international students. Baljit Kaur Lally, team lead for Vancouver and Lower Mainland, said there are inadequate resources and support for international students.

"I hope that soon there will be some sort of legislation, guidelines, or policies put in place for these colleges that take advantage of these students and don't provide them any type of resources like mental health support, and housing, for which they should be held accountable,” Lally said.

Gian Singh Sandhu, president & CEO of Guru Nanak Institute of Global Studies (GNI), stressed the importance of preparation, stating that it should be mandatory for students to take courses on Canadian customs, culture, and social justice. Robust support systems, counselling services, and awareness programs are essential to help them cope, he shares. Sandhu explains that the government is aware of these issues, and recommendations, including from GNI, have formally been given to decision-makers to address these larger systemic problems. 

Rattandeep suggests that local communities need to encourage international students to consider coming to Canada after completing their bachelor's degree as postgraduate students instead, especially so if local governments and institutions continue to fail to provide adequate services or support. This ensures they have attained a certain level of maturity and can handle the pressures of getting use to a new place, he argues, adding that those who arrive directly from high school often become easy targets for exploitation.

International Students and the Housing Crisis

Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, is urging the federal government to implement measures to address the housing crisis being exacerbated by the large influx of international students.

He highlighted concerns that many students in Brampton cannot afford rent, leading to unsafe and illegal living conditions. Brown also emphasized the need for a more restrictive visa policy, including an annual cap on student permits, prioritizing institutions with housing plans, and increased federal funding for housing infrastructure in municipalities like Brampton. 

“The current system allows international students to be routinely taken advantage of and is exacerbating the housing crisis,’’ Brown said in a post on X, “Requiring a housing address as part of the visa approval process would ensure every college has an appropriate housing plan and spur new student housing construction.”

Brar, however, believes students are being used as an easy scapegoat at times. 

“The government has failed to provide proper housing to its citizens, including international students,” Brar shares, “Students are the victims, not the problem…it's the government that has failed at multiple levels, including the housing one.”

Jaspreet is also concerned with how new government announcements are being framed as a solution to things like the national housing crisis. 

“This is a solution for the integrity of our system, to maintain it. But this has nothing to do with the housing crisis,” he said. 

Partly due to an imbalance in demand and supply, the housing crisis in Canada has worsened over the years. According to a report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), 5.8 million new homes are required by 2030. However, Canada is currently only building half of what's needed.

“Even if you are capping the number of international students coming here they also want help with the housing crisis. The international students are not the ones who are causing the crisis. Students were not the ones who were bidding against each other buying million-dollar apartments,” Jaspreet suggests. 

Economic Stress

International students can pay more than five times what domestic students spend on tuition.

Jaspreet says many students have heavy financial burdens and rely on full or part-time work to make their dream here possible. They often lack support systems in the country. Moreover, students who come to Canada for post-graduate diplomas often still face difficulty finding jobs. 

Brar highlights the exploitation of international students, who are used to fill labour shortages but receive little support.

“[International students] contribute a lot to the economy. They pay taxes, they go to work, and they fill up those jobs where [they are] much needed. But the support system [is not there],” he said. 

It doesn’t help then, students argue, that the federal government announcement limits the ability to get the work permits necessary to make life here easier or even possible. 

From September 1, 2024, eligibility criteria for the post-graduation work permit program will be modified. Students in curriculum licensing arrangements will no longer be considered eligible for post-graduation work permits. However, graduates of master's and other short-term graduate-level programs will be eligible for a three-year work permit, which will give students more time to gain valuable work experience.

Additionally, open work permits for spouses will be restricted. These will only be available to those who accompany international students in master's and doctoral programs. These adjustments complement the recent reforms to the International Student Program, which aim to provide genuine students with adequate support.

These changes come on top of a late December 2023 announcement, shortly before the winter holidays, that increased financial requirements for study permit applicants. A single applicant is required to demonstrate that they have $20,635 in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs. 

“The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants has not changed since the early 2000s, when it was set at $10,000 for a single applicant. As such, the financial requirement hasn’t kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that their funds aren’t adequate,” the announcement read. 

The new cap announcement and the financial requirement changes from late last year will likely chill the number of students looking at Canada as an option, those who spoke to Baaz shared.

The financial strain caused by inflated fees and high living costs is particularly severe, according to Sandhu. Doubling the deposit doesn't help with addressing the real problem, which usually leads to extended work hours and affects academic performance, he shared. 

Protests at Post Secondary Institutions 

Brar believes the new cap is not surprising—with the upcoming elections, the federal Liberal party is addressing the negative image international students present for them. 

“What [the government] have proposed, was very clear that it is going to come,” Brar says. 

Protests have been increasing over the last few years, including an ongoing one in downtown Brampton outside of Algoma University that immediately preceded the new measures announced by the federal government. 

While past student protests against post-secondary institutions, and even employers, have resulted in immediate wins for them, Brar believes those protests have now led to the new caps and harsher measures by governments. 

“Although we may see some small victories, the larger battle may be lost during those protests. Unfortunately, this is what happened with the two-year cap,” Brar argues. 

Students enrolled in the Information Technology and Business Administration postgraduate programs at Algoma University's Brampton campus have experienced mass failures in several courses, without any clear justification or transparency. Students have alleged they are being mass failed and forced to retake courses as a means to extract more tuition fees from them. 

For instance, 132 of 230 students enrolled in the "Techniques of Systems Analysis" initially failed the course. After the students raised their concerns and protested, Dr. Micheal Twiss,  Dean of the Faculty of Science acknowledged that the grades were “abnormally low.” 

KD is an international student at Algoma University who spoke to Baaz on condition of anonymity. 

KD, who was enrolled in the course, said they received little communication from the professor, who also told students to drop out of the course but released their grades on November 15, 2023—after the deadline to drop courses on October 27, 2023. At that point, students had no option but to write the final exam. 

“In the meantime, we also wrote many emails to the Dean as well but he never, ever gave us any solution. All that was conveyed by the Dean is the professor does not want to meet you guys. And all that you can do is just raise an appeal,” KD explains. 

The Dean then curved them up and allowed 100 students to pass, offering a makeup exam to the rest. However, the Dean's communication lacked details on the initial grade issues, and there was no apology included. 

Currently, 32 students are awaiting a full reassessment.

The main complaints from international students include a lack of feedback, guidance, and communication from instructors, along with significant delays in grading assignments. Additionally, students are expressing dissatisfaction with poor-quality online courses that rely on outdated materials, despite requests for in-person classes and improved academic resources.

These experiences are shared with students at other colleges and universities as well, and are a symptom of larger concerns around the quality of education international students are receiving in Canada.

“This is all about exploitation,” Jaspreet says, adding that “We have heard about [post-secondary institutions] revoking admissions, and then failing students in large numbers from certain courses, exploiting them financially.”

KD said that international students cannot be held responsible for poor management and programming quality from post-secondary institutions. Expecting students to have known better is not fair, they share, as what they are told before coming and what they experience firsthand once here is often quite different. 

“Unfortunately, universities are just focusing on a large number of students coming to them, paying them huge amounts of fees and filling up their pockets. They are barely concerned about the quality of education,” they said. 

“The protest at Algoma…that was all about transparency,” Jaspreet shares. 

“The students were not asking about the answers [to the exam]. They were asking why they failed. Tell them what mistake they made. If they knew they made a mistake, then the next time they won't be doing it again,” he said, adding that if this is the case at a heavily regulated public university, one can only imagine what is happening in private colleges popping up across Canada. 

Immigration Struggles for International Students 

Of the hundred of thousands of international students that come to Canada every year, only a relatively small number have been able to eventually lock in Permanent Residence status, Rattandeep shares. According to his calculations, of the approximately 2.5 million total study permit intakes since 2018 less than 10 per cent have been able to obtain a PR. 

“Many international students are resorting to seeking asylum or filing refugee claims to extend their stay in Canada and avoid the possibility of returning to their home countries. Many struggle to find employment or obtain permanent residency. Moreover, the exorbitant expenses often lead them into addiction, depression, and tragically, even suicide.” 

According to government data obtained by the Toronto Star through an access to information request, the number of refugee claims made by international students has increased significantly in Canada. 

The number of refugees who made claims while holding a study permit increased by about 2.7 times in five years, with 4,880 cases recorded in 2023 compared to 1,835 in 2018. This increase coincides with a rise in the international student population, which has grown by approximately 1.4 times, from 567,065 to 807,750 during the same period.

Despite the increase in the number of refugee claims, less than one per cent of international students sought protection in Canada. 

According to Brar, there is a need for a new policy that uses an equity-based system to make it easier for international students who have studied and worked in Canada to get their PR.

“But practically there is a lot more work that needs to be done from the government by announcing the pathway to PR programs, genuine ones, and giving more priority to international students if they want to help them,” Brar states. 

Yet, for those who are unable to secure permanent residency through these means or who choose not to pursue them, the reality of departure becomes inevitable. For some, this entails returning to their home countries with newfound skills and experiences, while for others, it means bidding farewell to the life they had hoped to build in Canada. In some cases, they go underground to avoid authorities and deportation.

"We're increasingly seeing more families reaching out to us from India because their child has gone missing or is no longer answering their phone calls," Jatinder Singh, National Director for Khalsa Aid Canada, tells Baaz. 

What Comes Next?

Ultimately, the experiences of international students navigating life in Canada reflect broader issues within the country - from post secondary education and municipal services to immigration and provincial and federal resources. 

Their stories serve as an important reminder of the challenges and uncertainties faced by those seeking to make Canada their home, and the importance of fostering an inclusive and accessible immigration system that supports the aspirations of all individuals, activists argue.

"The universities can certainly improve the student experience of international students by truly understanding what their unique issues are and trying to alleviate those,” Jatinder shares, explaining that non-profits like Khalsa Aid will continue to do their best in supporting students where governments and institutions fall short. 

As governments and communities continue to grapple with the multilayered issues and challenges, shifts may be forming in the number of Punjabis looking to Canada as a destination for post secondary education. Some numbers from this year appear to suggest a drop in applications.

While moving abroad continues to be a dream for many Punjabi youth, a recent viral interview with a young law graduate from Punjab, who practices during the day and manages his food business in the evening, may signal a change in attitudes. 

“Give Punjab a chance, before moving to Canada or abroad, try once here.”

Kuwarjeet Singh Arora is an award-winning multimedia journalist based in Brampton, Ont. He is currently working for The Bramptonist, writing about local Brampton news. Besides covering topics about his community, he also covers issues that affect Canadian society as a whole. You can follow him on Instagram @kuwarx123 or Twitter @kuwarx123x

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