A boom in international students in recent years has greatly contributed to Canada’s economy and job market, and the Canadian government plans to help keep the trend going.
Released last month, the federal budget has allocated nearly $148 million in funding for international education and recruitment over the next five years.
International students contribute billions of dollars each year to Canada’s economy, and they’re an important source of skilled labour, especially given the current labour-market shortage.
In an interview with The Star, Universities Canada president Paul Davidson said that university and government officials are in the beginning stages of a strategic plan to broaden their campaign promoting Canada as a top education destination.
And the statistics reveal that it truly is — since 2000, the number of study permits has increased by 467%. This change might be due to immigration policy changes, which have sped up visa processing times, allowing foreign students to work in Canada and making it easier for graduates to obtain permanent residency.