The cumulative total of the number of Indian students attending Canadian colleges and universities over the last year has crossed 100,000 for the first time.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
According to data for study permit holders by country of citizenship from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):
1. Canada attracted 31,975 international students originating from India in 2015
2. That number rose to 52,890 by the end of 2016
3. The number had already reached 44,855 by August this year, making it a near certainty that the inflow of students will be another record by the end of 2017.
REASON BEHIND THE SURGE
Part of the reason for the surge in Indian students opting for higher education in Canada is the somewhat immigrant-unfriendly signals from the Donald Trump administration in the US.
Premier institutions like the University of Toronto (UofT) are among those that have benefited from this significant rise. The varsity has seen a nearly two-third increase in students from India.
Others who are involved in this sector of transnational movement of students have keenly observed this recent trend, as in the case of Ravi Jain, a leading immigration lawyer with the Toronto-based firm of Green and Spiegel LLP.
Other than the prevailing “nativism” in the US, also the “hard reality” is that “it takes many years to transition to a green card (in the US) whereas in Canada, most of the permanent resident cases fly through in about four months.
And Canada seeks to make the most of this opening. Canada’s been a nation that celebrates multiculturalism, and that views immigration as a way to bring the best talent from around the world.”
