Canada’s international student boom went from success to liability over just a few years. Policymakers that promoted the growth are now suddenly passing blame, presenting it as an overwhelming surprise. It turns out the growth was the intended outcome of a $148 million plan, including a new brand jointly owned and operated by the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Governments. Policymakers are now presenting new limits as a response to public outcry, coincidentally in the same year the strategy ended. What timing!
EduCanada, Canada’s State-Owned Foreign Student Recruiting Machine
Formed in 2016, EduCanada is a state-owned brand to promote international study. It’s jointly owned by Global Affairs and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). For those unaware, Global Affairs is Canada’s version of the State Department in the US. The CMEC is a collective group representing the provinces’ and territories’ interests in the plan. In other words, this is a joint project between the Federal Government, Provinces, and Territories.
The idea is the brand’s spanking new website will be the central tool to attract international students. It didn’t really take off until the International Education Strategy (2019-2024).
Canada’s International Education Strategy Sought To Grow Its Global Influence Via International Students
Canada didn’t just suddenly decide 2024 was the year they would change course on international students. It was the exciting conclusion of a successful campaign called the International Education Policy (2019-2024), aka IEP (2019-2024). The $148 million plan focused on using education as a tool to grow the country’s influence in key regions, exporting curriculums and boosting the international student population.
In addition to targeting growth in countries that already provided a stream, they also had a strategic list of priority countries. The agency would target growth in Brazil, Columbia, France, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, the Phillipines, Thailand, Turkey, the Ukraine, and Vietnam. An interesing selection of regions to desire influence, but that’s a topic for another day.
“If they [international students] choose to immigrate to Canada, they contribute to Canada’s economic success. Those who choose to return to their countries become life-long ambassadors for Canada and for Canadian values,” explained MP James Gordon, Minister of International Trade Diversification, announcing the International Education Strategy (2019-2024).
The idea resembles the Soviet-era strategy of gaining influence by creating diaspora communities. However, it was more like an inbound version—the students study in Canada and thus stronger international bonds are formed (no one wants to argue with the country their kids live in), or they move back and tell everyone how great it was. Not a bad idea, but it also has the reverse impact—if they have a bad experience, it amplifies the idea that this is a type of inbound colonialism.
Canada’s Source of International Students Is Quickly Shifting
The top three source countries for study permit holders in Canada.
Source: IRCC; Better Dwelling.
A central part of the IEP (2019-2024) was to “fully capitalize” the brand EduCanada. They would then operate a digital campaign, outsourcing a $24.1 million budget to run targeted ads over 5 years, and scale up to $5.4 million per year going forward.
Canada’s $24 Million Digital Campaign To Recruit Foreign Students
Most of us already know the digital campaign was a massive success. A representative from Global Affairs provided a breakdown of the outsourced ad campaign, and notes it came in significantly under budget.
In the 2022-2023 school year, a budget of $2 million resulted in 6,900 leads from the EduCanada website. That worked out to roughly $290 per potential student. By the 2023-2024 year campaign, the budget was cut to $700k but managed to generate 6,800 leads, dropping the cost to $103 per potential student.
Cossette Media was contracted to run the campaign until August 2024. It’s unclear if the contract was renewed, especially since it appears the Committee on Foreign Investment In The United States (CFIUS) isn’t fond of Cossette Media’s Hong Kong-based parent company. Back in 2018, the parent company stated the CFIUS was unwilling to approve the acquisition of a US-based data analytics company.
Canada Also Has A Plan To Process More Students Even Faster
The current narrative from policymakers at all levels is that the increase in international students was unexpected. However, the IEP’s budget appears to have actually made significant investments to scale student inflows. The IEP also included funds to expand traditional student acquisition streams and streamline the anticipated increased processing.
Canada’s Student Direct Stream program is an example. It’s a program that seeks to expedite student permits if they have provincial or territorial approval. The program was already operating in China, the Phillipines, and Vietnam. The IEP adds another $1 million to help roll the program out to other countries.
Canada also needed a lot more processing power to approve all of the expected students. The IEP allocated an additional $`18 million to the IRCC to streamline the processing of temporary resident applications.
Policymakers are now passing blame for the international student surge. It paints a picture of a chaotic, clumsy mess of authority that was unaware of what was happening and how it occurred. However, it was actually a very well orchestrated plan involving multi-stakeholders, along with Federal, Provincial, and Territorial engagement along the way. They didn’t just know how out-of-control the growth became, but played an active role in building it.
If they were playing dumb, that also brings up questions about the sudden concerns. New limits are being presented as a response to public concerns, but the plan was always supposed to wrap up in August 2024. The newly presented limits largely seek to preserve the rapid scale up, not reduce it. In other words, this isn’t a response but exactly where they were hoping the volume would be.
Back in 2019 it was a point of pride from the Provinces that they were attracting so many international students, lowering their funding liabilities for the colleges.
They suddenly have amnesia and they’re pretending the Federal gov was the sole party responsible after constituents are stuck with no housing and soaring unemployment.
“everyone wants to live here. We attract top talent!”
Proceeds to pay recruiters to convince rural families in developing countries they have an opportunity to accelerate their class mobility. Ends up being sex slaves for rent or working in Tim Hortons.
Everyone in office needs to go. They’re all predators executing plans that cost millions, then voters let them pretend they didn’t know they spent the money.
While provinces may have played a role, I’m betting that since immigration and border security are Ottawa based, that provinces were mainly involved in certifying the institutions.
The feds were clearly the ones in control, and Trudeau was a big proponent of Canada 100M by 2100, with carney, McKinsey, and the wef. If the program predated Trudeau, maybe he would have a way out, but in that time most provinces changed govt’s, but the only constant was the federal govt.
This is 98% Trudeau, 2% everyone else. The terrible situation for most Canadians is a combination of terrible federal policies, corruption, failure to regulate educational institutions, banks, etc. These are all federal problems. If you live in Ontario, the massive debt and money wasted on subsidies might be a concern, since Ford is getting close to the point he can no longer subsidize hydro one, car companies, and banks much longer with a deficit larger than most countries, and a debt load of almost $500B … however even in Ab, where our provincial govt is getting surpluses is no better, mainly because of Ottawa.
“…provinces were mainly involved in certifying the institutions”
Which is what the new Federal regulations take over, because that was the main problem. Provinces have a surprisingly large amount of autonomy in the Canadian federation. Mostly, the Feds take the money and then use that to buy/bribe back conformity.
The Feds couldn’t buy compliance with international students paying the colleges directly, so they resorted to restricting student visas. Now, they’re restricting work visas to only graduates of specific college programs. All intended to shut down the private international schools that were pedaling citizenship (which was a lie).
It was a good program when it started. It worked well. Some provinces let private schools abuse the system and gullible international students, just like they let private schools abuse gullible Canadian students for years.
If only the Feds could block student loans for Canadians students being suckered into these pointless “6 months ago I could not spell techenitian, now I are one” schools… but I suspect that’s another thing under provincial control.
Damn does this hit. The loosened regulations are supposed to make it easier to operate real schools, not let fly-by-night institutions open up in immigration consultant offices.
India went from 48k students to 450k in 5 years? Jesus. Wasn’t that Halifax’ populaiton back then? How is anyone pretending this was an accident?
They played with peoples lives by peddling false hopes. Karma is going to manifest brutally.
um, am I the only one that clicked the CFIUS link? How are you going to drop that in passing when it’s an inquiry-level drama?
Divid and conquer
Knocked it out of the park. I don’t know if voters care, but this is the kind of think most journalists will write about at a presser then never connect all of the politicians pretending they don’t know what’s happening.
Canada NEEDS more international students to grow economy. More advertising in India will help grow numbers. Canada MUST succeed
Trudeau 10x the Indian student population by design for a few bucks placing insane burden on the country. He should be on trial. But the people have no way of holding our government accountable. We can only simply watch this country burn.
Can we please check small details before publishing? This article says Columbia instead of Colombia. The name of the country doesn’t change in English, this upsets Colombians so much that they even have merchandise about it. When you say Columbia you are referring to the US
I wonder if India can accommodate 450k Canadian students.they better start building houses and schools
Two words “Zero Accountability” .. blame passed onto Students and Education Institutions.
Yea now look at Canada, protesters that are protesting things that have 0 to do with Canada. Caucasian people have become minorities in our own Homeland. Mass homelessness yet gov. keeps bringing in more immigrants… and were forced to “adapt” to their cultures yet if we went to their countries we’d be forced to assimilate to their beliefs. This isn’t “acceptance of others views, this is forced assimilation” to better suit foreigners “needs”!.
This was the biggest blunder liberal government did and changed Canada’s multicultural image. At some point it started looking like little India.
I wish new government should address this issue and cut down immigration specially from India. Further deport them who have completed their time in Canada.
I would suggest 100% ban on immigration from India at least for 10 years. These students most of them are fake have created too many issues for our economy and system.
Further government must punish them who misused the system specially ghosts colleges and fake students.
Why did India went exponential from 2015. Did something happened to India in 2015 onwards? Drop from China makes sense because of the arrest of Meng Wanzhou in 2018.
My understanding is Canada stopped processing visas in China making it harder/riskier for Chinese students to seek to come here.
Canada didn’t extend the favour to Indian students.
No, the Chinese wised up and realized that Canada doesn’t offer much opportunities for them compared to back home. Punjabi Indians on the other hand are perfectly fine dishing out tens of thousands to work at Tim Hortons and delivery driver jobs.
China has a steady state of population, India is growing exponentially. So while the average Chinese person is able to move to middle class, India (and Canada) are seeing more and more poverty.
Population growth is the main problem driving climate change, so it’s good that China has managed that, while much of the developing world has not.
No… not really. China’s population is not steady-state but declining. India’s population is growing, but not exponentially, and that growth is declining. The average Chinese person is still quite poor, well below middle class… thus China is still able to claim “Developing Nation” status. And, like China, India has dramatically reduced poverty over the last few decades but, unlike China, still has a young population to continue that trend.
I do agree that population growth is the primary driver of human induced climate change… by definition, how could it not be? But, projections indicate we’ll peak earlier than expected. Yes, in part due to China. People are now worrying about population decline.
But, to what seems to be your main premise… no, population growth actually promotes economic activity and a rising middle class. Consider the birth of the Boomer generation in the 50s and early 60s. That correlates with the biggest expansion of the middle class in North American history. It’s still viewed with nostalgia and used for unreasonable comparisons today. Yes, the Canadian middle class are relatively poorer than they were in the 50’s… a lot less children too.
You could argue that a rising middle class promotes population growth… but then China and India would prove that wrong. Maybe the best approach would be to conclude that the Canadian experience has little to do with what the Chinese people have to deal with under CCP rule.
There is that old saying “if we all had to put our problems in the center and then pick the ones we want, I’d race to get mine back.” Not without problems, and that new 50’s shine might be worn, but life in Canada is pretty good. Happy Thanksgiving.
So, yet another obscure government department was given a goal and a measly budget to achieve it. They succeeded in their goal (gasp) under budget. Considering how much international students spend each year, it was a fiscal home-run. Absurdly successful by government standards.
Meanwhile, each province (that have full control over their respective education systems) more or less allowed “International Schools” that abused this success.
In BC, the original stated plan was to significantly base incoming immigration on international students. They pay to come here, pay to learn English, and pay to spend a couple years integrating with Canadian society. Then, if they succeed in their studies, they get a work permit. Then, if they get a relevant job, they can apply for Permanent Resident status. Young, educated, integrated, and successfully employed… best immigrant possible. If they don’t succeed, they go home. Arguments about how many immigrants we want aside, it’s a brilliant way to get the best.
But, we also got the “International Schools” that gamed the system for money. Their “graduates” are complaining that they didn’t get their promised Permanent Resident status… Yes, they were scammed… but I have little sympathy. It’s not like Canadian students haven’t been scammed by private schools for years.
The current plan to ration student visas by quality of institution is needed. The provincial governments didn’t do it, even though it is their problem to deal with , so the federal government stepped in.
Oh, and yes I am aware that they changed the student work permit system to allow, in BC’s case, full-time work while studying… but, that’s another issue.
Governments have made a very bad mistake when it comes to any type of immigration towards population increase. Their policies were based on greed, more money coming in, instead of investigation on the need and outcomes. If they had investigated the situation they would have realized that we had enough work force in our own population to sustain the jobs available and new jobs. And this is based on a brief review of our existing population and generations that follow each other. There was no need to increase population for this reason. The increase in population has now flooded our job market and resulting in high unemployment and it will get higher yet. The government wanted to increase their tax base by increase population. But not enough employment results in any benefits but the opposite, high cost we all have to pay.
Is anyone surprised that, much like every one of their policies, the intl student situation has turned into a disaster for Trudeau et al. The blame is mostly on the feds who promoted this across the board for all immigrants, and have pursued policies in line with this accross all areas of life for Canadians.
The truly sad part is that had any of us bothered to check on the mess the first Trudeau made, we would have known exactly how jr was going to do. This is a generational mess that will usher in decades of austerity, just as Trudeau sir’s dismal govt did? What worse is jt did everything as badly as his dad in half the time?