Figures have shown that Canada has foreseen a double-digit growth in international students over the course of this year, but according to the Canadian educators, this rise in number is not only due to Donald Trump and his tactics.
The fact that the country has a low currency, welcoming immigration policies and streamlined visa processing for key markets and other factors included is the reason that the student enrolments over the course of the year have grown in Canada to a huge amount of extent.
Mike Walkley, the managing director of ELS Canada has gone as far to say – “Even if Clinton had won the election, we would still be seeing the same number of students in Canada this year that we are seeing now.”
He also said – “Canada’s done a lot of really good, really smart things recently, particularly with immigration and pathways and work rights, that have helped raise its profile overall,” he said. “Canada has always had a reputation for being welcoming and safe, but I think that’s echoing with people more than ever now.”
Statistics have gone as far as to show that Canada has seen an 18 percent increase in international students – the number reaching 414,285 as of December 2016.
As far as providing the students go, China continues to be the country’s largest source country but India and Vietnam saw the biggest gains in 2016: a whopping 57% and 55%, respectively.
Higher education institutions expect to see major growth this year as well. Simon Fraser University in Vancouver has seen a sizeable increase in applications from international students for fall 2017 compared to previous terms, according to Bing Lee, director of student recruitment and transition.
The fact that the Canadian dollar is cheaper than the US dollar means that students experience a higher level of affordability in Canada when compared to the US, however, there is also one other major reason as to why students actually choose Canada.
The fact that Canada has a relatively lenient immigration policy means that students can actually view Canada as a viable option to not only work in but also a viable place to live in. So amongst other attractive aspects of education in Canada, this remains to be one of the more bigger attractions of seriously thinking about Canada as a place to study in.
