In 2019, the Government of Canada launched a new International Education Strategy (IES), Building on Success. The program aims to grow the diversity of Canada’s international education market by 2024. Building on Success targets increased international student diversity by source country, location of study, level of study, and field of study.1
As we are near the halfway point for the IES’s 2024 diversity goals, our team delved into the most recently available study permit holder data and study permit approval data.2 We found that Canada has made strides in each targeted area, but still has much work ahead of itself.
Key Insights at a Glance
- India and China not only continued to account for more than 50% of all of Canada’s international students, but actually increased their combined share of study permit holders in 2020.3
- From January 2019 to October 2021, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec accounted for 83% of all study permits approved in Canada.
- Colleges and universities accounted for 79% of all study permits approved from 2019 to 2021.
- In 2021, 5 of 6 fields of study grew by 14% or more compared to 2018.
It’s worth noting that Building on Success was released prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted education across the globe. But that disruption emphasizes the importance of diversification, and why Canada needs international students now more than ever. Join us as we explore where and how the country might achieve its diversity goals in the coming years.
Does Canada Accept Many Students from Different Countries?
Building on Success highlights that over 50% of study permit holders in 2018 came from two countries: India and China. The chart below compares the top source countries in 2018 to 2020,4 and we can see that not much changed:
India and China actually increased their combined percentage of permit holders in 2020 compared to 2018. Also, the same nine countries comprised the top source markets in both years, and student visas from all other markets increased by only 0.2%—a number that should rise alongside increased diversity.
Though diversity at the top is lagging, many emerging markets showed promising trends. The total number of study permit holders from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Colombia, Morocco, and Algeria grew by more than 20%. In 2020, Canada welcomed more than 4,200 students from each of these countries, with Bangladesh leading the way with more than 7,700 students. This represents significant growth in areas across three different continents.
We delved into study trends for Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Algeria as part of our Study Permit Trends in Canada article series.
The growth across many emerging markets is an exciting and positive indicator of increased diversity. But Canada has a long way to go. For Canada to reach its 2024 diversity goals set in Building on Success, institutions and governments must build and expand support for students within these emerging markets.
Where Are International Students Studying In Canada?
We turned to IRCC’s latest study permit approval data to see whether international students are diversifying where they study in Canada. You can toggle between two graphics below: one compares the total percentage by province in 2018 to the combined percentage from 2019 to 2021 (January through October), and the other shows provincial growth in 2021 compared to 2018.
Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec dominated the market in 2018, and this hasn’t changed. From 2019 to 2021, these three major provinces accounted for 83% of all approved study permits in Canada, an increase of one percentage point from 2018.
As with the leading source markets for permit holders, positive diversification indicators lie beyond the leading provinces for approved study permits. Newfoundland and Labrador (+53%) and New Brunswick (+47%) saw the most growth among all provinces from 2018 to 2021. During this time frame, Manitoba (+18%) and Alberta (+16%) also showed impressive growth.
For a competitive advantage, institutions outside Canada’s three largest provinces should aim to issue letters of acceptance (LOA) within one week. We found that a delayed LOA reduces tuition rates by up to 47%.
How Diverse Are Canada’s Study Levels?
Study levels in Canada follow the trends above: the dominant sectors (college and university) increased their share of the country’s total study permits approved since Building on Success was released. The charts below compare the percentage of study permits approved by study level in 2018 to the period from 2019 through 2021 (January to October), as well as 2021’s growth to 2018.
Colleges and universities accounted for 79% of all approved study permits from 2019 to 2021 (January to October). This was an increase of six percentage points compared to 2018.
When we look at the growth in 2021 compared to 2018, we see that declining study permits for language programs (-49%) hurt the diversity of Canada’s study levels. The K-12 sector also struggled to grow due to a decrease in student visas for secondary schools (-16%), likely a product of parents not wanting to send their kids abroad alone or on exchange during the pandemic. On the other hand, master’s degrees (+77%) grew more than any other study level in 2021 compared to 2018, representing a promising step toward increased diversity within the university sector.
Languages Canada Executive Director Gonzalo Peralta spoke with us about how the Canadian language sector plans to rebound post-pandemic.
What Are the Top Fields of Study in Canada?
Fields of study in Canada showed the most diversity out of the targeted areas in Building on Success. However, in the table below, we see that business and management is trending toward becoming the dominant field of study for international students.5
Business and management accounted for 26% of all approved study permits between 2019 and 2021 (January through September). This was an increase of five percentage points, the largest of Canada’s fields of study. As business and management takes more market share, institutions and governments should be cautious of losing the diversification that currently exists.
In 2021, 5 of 6 fields grew by 14% or more compared to 2018. This shows that Canada has a wealth of prestigious and highly regarded fields of study attracting international students.
Looking Forward
Canada has made some exciting strides toward achieving the IES’s Building on Success diversity goals for 2024, but much work remains to be done. Three of the four targeted areas for diversity in Building on Success—source country, study location, and study level—saw the leaders in those areas increase their share of Canada’s international education market. But Canada rolled out many strategies outlined in Building on Success in the back half of 2021, a clear sign that the pandemic hindered the IES’s deployment. Here’s some of what the government has done since July 2021:
- Launched the Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) program.6 The GSO is a $95 million study and work program that aims to expand opportunities to diverse students and to places beyond traditional destinations.
- Outlined modernization goals for Canada’s immigration forms and processes. This includes hiring more staff, expanding technological capacity, and addressing systemic and cultural barriers.7
- Expanded the Student Direct Stream (SDS) to the following countries in July 2021: Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.8 While it remains too early to see the impact of this expansion in current data sets, it is a promising first step, and we urge the Canadian government to expand SDS even further. Currently, students from only 14 countries are eligible to apply for SDS.
These are exciting developments, and we look forward to seeing their results moving forward. At the same time, institutions and recruitment partners (RPs) can help Canada achieve its diversity goals for 2024 with strategic engagement with students. For example, Canada’s job vacancy total rose to more than 900,000 in Q3 of 2021, representing an increase of 80% compared to Q1 of 2019.9 Institutions and RPs should highlight these career opportunities for students, such as Canada’s need for healthcare and skilled trades.
Also, we recently found that 58% of repeat student visa applicants were eventually accepted into Canada. This means that students who do not get accepted on their first try should not give up, and institutions and RPs should continue to offer them the fullest support.
Published: February 10, 2022
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FOOTNOTES:
1. Government of Canada, Building on Success: International Education Strategy 2019–2024. 2019.
2. All data courtesy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), except where noted. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enroll in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the terms interchangeably.
3. Permit holder data for 2021 is not yet available.
4. As of December 31 in the given year.
5. September is the latest available data for fields of study in Canada.
6. The Pie News, Canada launches $95 million outbound program to boost skills. November 2021.
7. Government of Canada, Measures to improve client experience and modernize Canada’s immigration system. January 2022.
8. Government of Canada, Student Direct Stream expanded in the Americas. July 2021.
9. Statistics Canada, Job vacancies, proportion of job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by selected characteristics, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality. December 2021.
