User:2020student/sandbox

Impact of International Students in Canada

Canada is among the top five countries in the world to host international students. According to the International Education Strategy published by the Government of Canada , international students are present in all levels of education from primary school, secondary school, college and university. The number of students has been increasing steadily in all levels from 2015 to 2018 with the greatest rise in college attendance. In 2015, the number of college students was reported at approximately 50,000 and by 2018 the number went over 120,000 college student permit holders.

In addition to post-secondary education, Canadian high schools and primary schools are also attracting the international students. In 2010, there were 27,997 international students. By 2010, this number increased to 35,140. The Canadian Bureau for International Education reported 71,350 international students in the secondary or less Canadian school system.

Students attending all Canadian institutions are primarily coming from Asia, with over 50% of the students coming from both the People’s Republic of China at 142,895 and India at 172, 625 in 2018.

This vast number of international students studying in Canada contributes to the Canadian economy. According to Global Affairs Canada , the economic impact can be felt across the entire country. The top two provinces to host and gain from the international student impact are Ontario and British Columbia. Ontario with the greatest number of international students at 233,226, went from $5,037.8 million in 2015 to $6,349.4 million in 2016. British Columbia also experienced an increase in their GDP from $2,391.1 million in 2015 up to $2,764.8 in 2016 with 145,691 students. The entire country saw an increase in international student spending go up by $2,721 million in that one-year period. The increase resulted in employment across the country. Again, Ontario received the greatest economic impact both direct and indirect resulting in 79,034 jobs in 2016 up from 62,737 in 2015. British Columbia experienced an increase in employment in the same period. There were 35,294 jobs in 2015 resulting from direct and indirect expenditures from international students which then increased to 40,499 in 2016. The entire country’s employment from international students was 140,010 in 2015 and up to 168,861 in jobs by 2016.

International students in Canada are studying in a wide range of fields at the post-secondary level. In university, for the academic year 2016 / 2017 the discipline receiving the most students was in Business, management and public administration with 249,951 students which increased by 1.3% from the previous school year. The second field of study went to social and behavioral sciences and law with 227,409 international students. For the same academic year in college, business, management and public administration was also the top field of study with 124,044 students which increased by 4.9% from the previous school calendar. The next field for college was the humanities with 94,620. Both university and college overall continue to see an increase in all fields of study At the university level all programs went up by 1% and college by 1.3%.

It is evident that international education is impacting Canadian schools by increased enrollment at all levels of education. Additionally, Canadian communities are benefiting by the increase in employment and the financial impact to the economy resulting from international students in Canada.